The rapprochement of the Bloc Québécois with the Parti Québécois has gone one step further, in part. Wanting to unite separatists from all walks of life, Yves-François Blanchet was nevertheless clear to the effect that the main ally of the Bloc remains the Parti Québécois. Activists rejected a resolution to this effect and instead spoke of “historic ties” between the two sovereigntist parties.
The Bloc leader addressed his troops on Saturday morning, in view of his vote of confidence at the party convention.
“The Bloc Québécois is the one-stop shop for all sovereignists. And he will remain so, ”launched the leader in a river speech of 45 minutes, to the 350 Bloc delegates gathered in Drummondville.
The two sovereigntist parties have always been sister parties. Mr. Blanchet had however made himself the defender of certain positions of the Quebec government of the Coalition avenir Québec, since his arrival at the head of the Bloc in 2019. One of the resolutions, which will be debated at the convention this weekend, Rightly calls on the Bloc to defend the positions of the majority of elected members represented in the National Assembly, and not just the positions of the government in place in Quebec.
The Bloc brings together PQ, CAQ and Québec solidaire activists. “We must keep our hearts in mind, our arms open, because we have a duty to bring together all the sovereignists,” assured Mr. Blanchet.
“Even if we are sovereignists from all walks of life, our vehicle in Quebec, the only party that makes independence the issue of its very existence is the Parti Québécois,” he however decided. “Not just the Parti Québécois. But first the Parti Québécois, proudly the Parti Québécois and always the Parti Québécois. »
A rapprochement, not exclusive
Minutes later, activists debating the resolutions submitted to form their party’s platform rejected the same idea.
The proposal stipulating that the Bloc “undertakes to support the Parti Québécois until the complete attainment of Quebec independence” was rejected. The Bloc members instead adopted the one that stated that their party must “bring together separatists of all stripes”, while adding an amendment specifying that the troops recognize “the historical and privileged ties” uniting the Bloc and the PQ.
An incompatibility with Canada denounced
In his speech, Mr. Blanchet listed the issues on which Quebec and the federal government do not agree. Oil exploitation in the West, protection of forests and fisheries in Quebec, and defense of French in Quebec as much as elsewhere in Canada.
In this regard, the federal Official Languages Act should only apply outside of Quebec, argued the Bloc leader.
The Bloc agreed to support the federal law reform bill, Bill C-13, after Ottawa reached an agreement with the Government of Quebec to give businesses in the province the choice between the federal law and the Quebec Charter of the French language.
“Compromise or not, we do not entrust our soul, our culture, or our language to the conqueror,” launched Mr. Blanchet, in a thinly veiled criticism of the CAQ – a phenomenon that has been rarer in recent years.
The Bloc leader later did it again by inviting the CAQ to hold its next convention in Ottawa, so that the party discovers, according to him, what Canada is and thus make a conversion to independence.
His harshest attacks, Mr. Blanchet had reserved for the federal government. “Basically, the problem is the crown trippers of England,” he reproached them. “The oil and monarchy freaks who take our money and invest it to challenge your language and your values. Oil and monarchy freaks who use the courts to strike down Quebec laws that are good for Quebec. »
A hope in the unencrypted vote
This 45-minute speech aimed to allow Chief Yves-François Blanchet to convince his troops to give him strong support during the vote of confidence held on Saturday.
Mr. Blanchet refused to quantify the expected result this week. The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, won 98.5% support from his troops last March. The Premier of Quebec and leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, François Legault, received the support of 98.6% of his activists last weekend.
The results have historically been just as favorable to former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe, who won 94.8% to 96.8% support, depending on the year, between 2005 and 2011. Leader Martine Ouellet , who briefly led the party in 2017-2018, is the only one to have earned a poor result, with 32% support in the wake of the crisis which rocked the party under her leadership.
Immigration Discussions
Bloc activists will also be discussing a few resolutions on the immigration file this weekend. To oppose irregular immigration, to design the volume of immigration taking into account the reception capacity of Quebec, or even to rule that “when a nation does not have all the powers in terms of immigration, this situation represents an obstacle for social cohesion”.
In his speech, Mr. Blanchet pointed out that the successful integration of immigrants requires education, health, childcare services, art and culture. “All that is the jurisdiction of Quebec,” he insisted, claiming like his activists full powers in matters for Quebec.
The chef, however, insisted on being welcoming. “What is a Quebecer? Someone who lives in there, ”he said, showing a map of Quebec to the screens installed on stage behind him.
Mr. Blanchet outlined the contribution of young Bloc activists—often the most eager to talk about sovereignty. He invited them to convince other young people of the independence project. He also reached out to the unions.