(Drummondville) The nearly 500 activists gathered in Drummondville for the National Council of the Parti Québécois had to show their credentials at a security post with metal detectors, a rare practice for an opposition party in Quebec.
Recent threats targeting PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and his family and “other threats” led the party leadership to have a “discussion” with the Sûreté du Québec.
“ [On leur a dit] We want to be exemplary, we want to follow best practices. The Sûreté du Québec supported us to ensure that at all levels, our practices were those that were recommended,” indicated Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon at the press scrum on Saturday.
The director of communications for the Parti Québécois, Laura Chouinard-Thuly, informed journalists that this decision was taken following recommendations from the Sûreté du Québec, based on three factors:
- The increase in threats against elected officials
- The history of threats against the Parti Québécois
- The position of the PQ in the polls
But for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, “the main role unfortunately is the deterioration of civic-mindedness in our society, probably linked to social media”. “It is clear that doing politics these days sometimes comes with less civic-mindedness, more lack of respect,” he said.
There is a change in Western society that is unfortunate. This makes me very interested in social media and screen time.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois
This week, the Legault government tabled a bill to “protect elected officials” and “promote the unhindered exercise of their functions”. If adopted, deputies, mayors and municipal councilors will be able to obtain an injunction against citizens who harass them, with fines of up to $1,500.
Fines
This bill was presented in a context where nearly 10% of municipal elected officials have left their positions since the 2021 election. “We are currently experiencing an increase in cases of incivility, intimidation, harassment and violence among elected officials, both municipal and in Quebec,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
PQ MP Joël Arseneau
PQ MP Joël Arseneau believes that this bill is a “good basis for discussion”. “On the measures, we will hear the groups. Do fines solve the whole situation? I think it’s a step in the right direction to be able to discuss it legislatively,” he said.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon also believes that “it is a good initiative”, but he warns against “mistakes”. ” It is a good initiative. We must be careful that the proposed measures do not create problems that we have not considered. We will work and discuss appropriate measures,” he said.
“But let us open the subject by saying harassment, hatred against elected officials, intimidation, we will act […] we salute him,” he said.
Housing and immigration
The National Council of the Parti Québécois focuses mainly on the housing crisis. Activists will discuss around thirty measures to increase supply and protect tenants. But the PQ leader believes that it is impossible to stem the crisis solely by building more housing.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon points to the large number of temporary immigrants, which increases from year to year and which is the “main” cause of the housing crisis according to him.
He asked the Legault government to freeze the issuance of acceptance certification from Quebec for new requests from companies that want workers, or from universities that want more foreign students.