Péladeau hailed at institute opening
He got by far the loudest applause but had the least to say — at least in public.
But Pierre Karl Péladeau looked on Thursday evening as the most tangible evidence of his short time at the helm of the Parti Québécois was born and deemed it all good for his cause.
“I’m very happy to be here with friends, with men and women who intend to work with assiduity and lots of conviction to ensure we advance the work of independence,” Péladeau said stopping briefly in the media mob which greeted him at the door. “It’s a very beautiful initiative.” And that was it. Sporting a new beard and making a rare public appearance since quitting the PQ leadership in May and his ensuing marital problems, Péladeau would leave Daniel Turp, president of the institute, to do the heavy lifting announcing the creation of the province’s latest think tank.
It will be known as the Institut de rec her chess url’ autodétermination des peuples et les indépendances nationales (IRAI).
Turp, himself a constitutional expert and former politician, was quick to heap praise on his benefactor.
“He is the ideas man who believed in giving the sovereignty movement a research institute,” Turp told the 250 people gathered in the IRAI’s Mile End loft offices to witness the event. “He has put this at the service of the movement.
“It’s the beginning of a beautiful adventure.”
In fact, until further notice, the millionaire media mogul Péladeau is also paying the bills in the form of a loan. Officials with the institute would not say how big the loan is. Months ago there were reports Péladeau planned to give $1 million for the institute to attain liftoff. He has denied that.
On Thursday, even the left-wing MNA for Québec solidaire, Amir Khadir, who has tangled with Péladeau many times over his financial interests and was present for the launch, could find nothing wrong with the loan.
“I’d rather his money be here than a tax haven,” Khadir quipped to a reporter.
Also on hand for the launch were three out of four PQ leadership candidates.
“These studies will increase our ability to show what is increasing clear: that federalism is causing Quebec to be systemically poorer,” said Jean-François Lisée.
“And independence will make it systemically richer.”
Péladeau’s deep pockets will keep the heat on at the institute for the winter and has allowed it to get down to the business of commissioning its first studies, Turp told reporters earlier.
Those three studies will cover some basic issues troubling the moribund separatist movement. One is to be on why youth age 18-34 are not aboard. A second will be on the various processes to separate and the last will be on the economy of an independent Quebec.
The institute’s long-term financial status will depend on private donations. It is currently trying to earn recognition as a charitable organization and thus be eligible for federal-provincial tax credits and benefits.
The institute filed its papers in June but has no answer from Revenue Canada yet. It is arguing it should have the same status as the other think tanks including province’s big federalist one, The Federal Idea, which was founded in 2009 by former journalist turned senator André Pratte.
There are advantages. A Quebec citizen making a donation to a charitable organization is eligible for a combined federal-provincial tax credit of 20 per cent on the first $200 donation and 24 per cent on amounts over $200.
The Federal Idea in 2014 issued $83,840 in charitable donation receipts. The amount represented 68 per cent of its revenues. Compare that to a really big institute with the same status such as the Fraser Institute. In 2014 it issued charitable donation receipts of $5,387,625 representing 45 per cent of its contributions. Of course, the independence institute and The Federal Idea have very different visions.
The Federal Idea describes itself as a network of Quebecers convinced of the “virtues of federalism as a principle of government in complex countries and of the advantages of Canadian federalism for Quebec.”
Péladeau’s institute wants to co-ordinate a series of studies by noted experts that show the “concrete advantages” of independence and “concrete disadvantages” of remaining in Canada.
The Federal Idea has welcomed the arrival of the rival, saying it will stimulate intelligent debate.