Quebec Liberals want to seduce voters with constitutional changes
Quebec Liberals want to seduce voters with constitutional changes
Marianne White, CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, August 12, 2007
LA POCATIERE, QUE. -- Quebec's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Benoit Pelletier, said on Saturday his province should continue to push for constitutional changes, such as a "charter of open federalism", even if Premier Jean Charest thinks the timing is not right.
Pelletier believes that's what his party must do to seduce francophone voters who put Liberals in third place in French Quebec in the March 26 provincial election.
"We have a serious challenge with francophone voters. I think that we have to bring the identity issue to the forefront and ask for more autonomy for Quebec," Pelletier said at his party's youth wing weekend convention.
"We have to keep fostering constitutional claims, but it doesn't mean that we want to open the constitution tomorrow."
Charest this week was not as enthusiastic about another round of constitutional negotiations and said that "the fruit is not ripe".
Moreover, Pelletier's proposition didn't draw a lot of attention during the premiers meeting this past week in Moncton, N.B.
But Pelletier said he intends to keep this debate alive.
"It's true that constitutional debates can be dividing and it is still taboo in Quebec's society and also in the Canadian society. But we must never stop (talking) about it ..."
The youth wing of the Quebec Liberal party, however, didn't go as far.
Rather they asked Quebec's government to adopt a declaration on federal-provincial relationships to be presented in 2008 when the province hosts a meeting of Canada's premiers and territorial leaders, the so-called Council of the federation.
The declaration would, among other things, state that francophones are the founding nation of Canada and limit federal spending .
"This will allow Quebec to take the leadership in Canada to improve federalism," said Stephanie Doyon, president of the provincial Liberals' youth commission.
The Quebec Liberal party's youth wing also discussed the identity issue, which focuses on how tolerant Quebec should be of non-Christian religious practices.
Liberal militants pledged for an open and inclusive Quebec.
"I fear that we might end up putting aside anglophones and other minorities," said Francois-Pierre Lapointe from Kamouraska.
"I am a Quebecer, I was born here. But people see me as a Haitian even if I have never been there", said Lovely Fleurme, from Montreal. "The party needs to stress that people like me are Quebecer, not only white people".
Marc Tanguay, president of the policy task force on identity, traveled to La Pocatiere to hear what the young Liberals had to say on the identity issue.
His group will hand out a preliminary report to a meeting of the party's general council in September and then start public hearings.
© CanWest News Service 2007
Marianne White, CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, August 12, 2007
LA POCATIERE, QUE. -- Quebec's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Benoit Pelletier, said on Saturday his province should continue to push for constitutional changes, such as a "charter of open federalism", even if Premier Jean Charest thinks the timing is not right.
Pelletier believes that's what his party must do to seduce francophone voters who put Liberals in third place in French Quebec in the March 26 provincial election.
"We have a serious challenge with francophone voters. I think that we have to bring the identity issue to the forefront and ask for more autonomy for Quebec," Pelletier said at his party's youth wing weekend convention.
"We have to keep fostering constitutional claims, but it doesn't mean that we want to open the constitution tomorrow."
Charest this week was not as enthusiastic about another round of constitutional negotiations and said that "the fruit is not ripe".
Moreover, Pelletier's proposition didn't draw a lot of attention during the premiers meeting this past week in Moncton, N.B.
But Pelletier said he intends to keep this debate alive.
"It's true that constitutional debates can be dividing and it is still taboo in Quebec's society and also in the Canadian society. But we must never stop (talking) about it ..."
The youth wing of the Quebec Liberal party, however, didn't go as far.
Rather they asked Quebec's government to adopt a declaration on federal-provincial relationships to be presented in 2008 when the province hosts a meeting of Canada's premiers and territorial leaders, the so-called Council of the federation.
The declaration would, among other things, state that francophones are the founding nation of Canada and limit federal spending .
"This will allow Quebec to take the leadership in Canada to improve federalism," said Stephanie Doyon, president of the provincial Liberals' youth commission.
The Quebec Liberal party's youth wing also discussed the identity issue, which focuses on how tolerant Quebec should be of non-Christian religious practices.
Liberal militants pledged for an open and inclusive Quebec.
"I fear that we might end up putting aside anglophones and other minorities," said Francois-Pierre Lapointe from Kamouraska.
"I am a Quebecer, I was born here. But people see me as a Haitian even if I have never been there", said Lovely Fleurme, from Montreal. "The party needs to stress that people like me are Quebecer, not only white people".
Marc Tanguay, president of the policy task force on identity, traveled to La Pocatiere to hear what the young Liberals had to say on the identity issue.
His group will hand out a preliminary report to a meeting of the party's general council in September and then start public hearings.
© CanWest News Service 2007
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