A recent article published in The duty had the title “The PQ associates Trudeau with deportations and executions of French speakers”. These are comments that I have never made, and it is important to clarify this given the seriousness of this statement. I have in fact never associated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with these historically proven behaviors, but which date from past centuries.
Here is the verbatim of the press briefing which led to this article.
Journalist: “So there was a triggering event. For you, in the last days, there was a triggering event. »
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon: “Yes, that is to say, I connect what I describe as an offensive charge against Quebec, I connect it with the long history of Quebec in Canada and the sad history of Francophones and indigenous peoples in this regime of colonial origin. All this is in continuity. Justin Trudeau is in continuity with his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. »
“So, I’m always surprised in news commentators to hear that there are no intentions behind this. It’s really forgetting recent history, such as the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution without Quebec, forgetting the work of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, forgetting what Francophones experienced in the deportations, the executions , the ban on having education in French. This regime has been constant throughout its history. »
“And what I said, it caused more of a stir than I thought, because it seems obvious to me, if we don’t move, what will happen to us is what happened to French-speakers in all the other Canadian provinces. And it doesn’t take a big course in Canadian history to connect recent events with what Canada has always been towards francophones and indigenous peoples throughout its history. »
In this declaration, I certainly link the recent charge of the federal government against Quebec in its jurisdiction to the long history of this regime in a historical perspective of actions against Francophones and Indigenous people. I also linked Justin Trudeau’s work to that of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. But here, we are trying to make an amalgam which suggests that the Parti Québécois would personally associate Justin Trudeau with nothing less than murders.
Justin Trudeau is, in my eyes, the historical continuity of his father in terms of the lack of collaboration on cultural, linguistic and political issues. But in no way did I associate it with physical violence in any way, which is a given.
There is continuity in the attitude of this regime towards Francophones and Indigenous people. I fully accept and stand by my comments, which are recorded in a historical report with facts. Obviously, the hostility of the federal regime is not expressed in the same way over time, but can, however, be constant. Methods have changed, but we must not turn a blind eye to posture.
Let us recall, for example, that barely 54 years ago, Pierre Elliott Trudeau gave police forces the right to imprison 500 Quebecers for crimes of opinion, including five poets and a singer. That 42 years ago, the Constitution of Canada was adopted without the consent of Quebec to weaken our powers, in what Trudeau Sr. called a “coup de force”. That just four years ago, his son Justin, quick to apologize for the country on other occasions, refused to do so for the worst human rights violation in recent Canadian history. That barely a week ago, Canadian MPs sang God Save the Kinga strong symbol of British colonialism in Canada, after refusing an Acadian deputy the possibility of not swearing an oath to the royal family who had ordered the deportation of his people.
An overall factual review — of the last three months, the last three years, the last three decades or the last three centuries, and regardless of the speeches and the parties in power in Ottawa — presents Canadian action over time that has led to the reduction and gradual erasure of both Quebec autonomy and the place of French in Canada.
Some will refuse to see or hear it, but I feel a responsibility to name it. However, I do not hold Justin Trudeau personally responsible for actions committed by the federal system several centuries ago.
Reply from Director Brian Myles
After having carefully analyzed this file, The duty arrives at different conclusions from those of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. The title and the text, taken as a whole, reflect the declarations of the leader of the Parti Québécois.
His association between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the tragic fate of Francophones and Indigenous peoples under British colonial rule has been noted by more than one commentator, as evidenced by the vigorous public debate about this public outing. The verbatim version of the press briefing, which we have exceptionally reproduced at the request of Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, will allow readers to judge for themselves.
If there should remain any conflict of interpretation regarding the appropriateness of this title, The duty recalls that there is a neutral and impartial body, the Quebec Press Council, before which we will be prepared to defend our work in a respectful and collaborative approach.