The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) and Québec solidaire (QS) have chosen the camp of abandonment of powers by voting against the renewal of the exemption provision which will protect the Law on State Secularism from legal challenges for a new period of five years, Prime Minister François Legault declared Thursday.
Members of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) and the Parti Québécois (PQ) supported maintaining this provision during a vote held in the National Assembly.
In a press briefing that followed, Mr. Legault affirmed that this vote establishes a dividing line between the political parties represented in Quebec.
“What we see now in the National Assembly is two camps,” he said. On one side, we have the nationalist camp, which defends the autonomy of Quebec, the CAQ and the PQ, then, on the other side, we now have the camp of the abandonment of Quebec’s powers, the Liberal Party and Québec solidaire. »
In February, the government tabled a bill to renew the notwithstanding provision, which suspends the application of certain articles of the Constitution Act of 1982. On Thursday, it was adopted by a majority of 83 votes to 26.
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