(Rimouski) By reneging on his promise to reform the voting system on the pretext that it does not interest “nobody” apart from “a few intellectuals”, François Legault does not “respect” “the intelligence of the people who followed these debates- there,” criticizes Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. The chief caquiste, for his part, persists and signs.
Posted at 6:48 p.m.
“People are smart and they follow that. They want to be able to trust politics, ”explained the leader of the Parti Québécois on Monday upon his arrival in Rimouski. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon wonders about “the relationship to democracy” and “the relationship to respect for people’s intelligence” of the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec.
“It’s like assuming that people are so uninterested in politics, that they haven’t realized that we have signed an agreement and that people are thinking about how we could improve our systems. People follow and care. We have to respect that and encourage that, ”launched the leader of the PQ, alongside his candidate in Rimouski, Samuel Poulin, and the outgoing deputy, Pascal Bérubé.
The leader of the Parti Québécois reacted to the remarks of François Legault held Sunday in an interview with Radio-Canada. Mr. Legault declared that the reform of the ballot “does not interest the population, apart from a few intellectuals”. While in opposition in 2018, François Legault signed the cross-party agreement to reform the voting system.
“The concern stems from the flippancy, the cavalier way of making a signed commitment, which has been the subject of legitimate political discussion for a few years, and saying, I’m not even answering that,” added Chief St-Pierre Plamondon, supported by the outgoing MP for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé. The latter was worried in the spring of an unprecedented “distortion” in favor of the CAQ.
To say that in such a cavalier way, that it only interests a few people, a few intellectuals… I mean, we have the right to reflect. There are two of his ministers who have written books, I have read them, I found them interesting. Does that make me an intellectual? Good.
Pascal Bérubé, outgoing MP for Matane-Matapédia
It’s no longer a priority, says Legault
François Legault persists and signs: “no one has spoken to me about this since the start of the campaign,” he said Monday in Gatineau. The leader of the CAQ recognizes that there are advantages to the proportional voting system, which he pledged to reform before taking power in 2018.
But, with partisanship in politics and the fact that this voting method creates, according to him, more minority governments, Mr. Legault now sees more disadvantages in it.
“With the pandemic that we have experienced for two and a half years, I am deeply convinced that the vast majority of Quebecers, when they list their priorities, the voting method is not in their priorities”, decided the head chef.
The PQ leader is not the only one who did not appreciate the comments of the CAQ leader on Sunday. “People wondered why François Legault didn’t give an interview all summer. I think that’s why. In these moments, the real François Legault stands out. This statement about intellectuals is contemptuous. There are plenty of people in Quebec who want us to have a democracy where every vote counts, ”he said.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois believes that François Legault should “take responsibility and say [qu’il] made a Justin Trudeau of himself” rather than “inventing fanciful reasons that this is intellectual business”.
The Legault government introduced Bill 39 on the reform of the voting system, but it died on the order paper.
With Hugo Pilon-Larose and Charles Lecavalier