Singh uses Sherbrooke visit to announce plan for Quebec
NDP party leader Jagmeet Singh made a campaign stop in Sherbrooke on Sunday to announce his party’s plan for the province of Quebec. Standing among a crowd of supporters at the Le President Hotel, Singh made it clear that he believes his party offers the best option when it comes to standing up for Quebec culture and identity.
“We must stop the condescending approach with Quebec taken by previous federal governments,” the NDP Leader said. “One of the goals of our plan is to give Quebec all the tools it needs to move forward, to achieve its full potential.”
Alexandre Boulerice, the NPD MP for Rosemont—la Petite-patrie, spoke more directly to the details of the plan, which includes elements such as enforcing Bill 101 for businesses under federal jurisdiction and going after web giants for tax income as ways of helping to defend Quebec’s distinct cultural identity, as
well as other items like ensuring that all supreme court appointees are bilingual.
“Symbols are nice, but at a certain point, actions must be taken,” Boulerice said, arguing that past Conservative and Liberal gestures toward the province have not gone far enough to defend its distinctive nature.
Both Singh and Boulerice used the term “assymetrical federalism,” to describe the principles guiding the Quebec plan, explaining that the party wants Quebec to be able to clearly assert its nationhood within a united Canada. That in mind, Singh said that he also wants ensure that the province signs the constitution.
“We know that it’s going to take hard work, but the fact that, historically, Quebec has not signed the constitution, is a mistake,” Singh said. “What we’re committing to doing, is doing that hard work.”
The full NDP plan, entitled “together for Quebec” can be found on the party’s website at https://www.ndp.ca/together-for-quebec
Richard and Ellen Goldfinch of Baldwin’s Mills were amongst the crowd and said that they were pleasantly surprised by the NDP leader’s presence and ease with both the French language and the press.
“He is incredibly personable,” Goldfinch said, adding that although he self-describes as “a diehard NDPER,” it is good to see a new leader assert his own identity in a way that is both confident and distinct from that of his predecessors.
Although surprised that Singh would open up the constitution debate again, the party supporter said that he and his wife were both pleased and impressed by the vast majority of the proposed measures. Goldfinch described the party’s plan as having, “a couple of gutsy ideas,” and said that he was particularly in favour of the call to tax large corporations.
“I think he did really, really well,” he said. During the question period after his presentation, Singh was asked about Quebec’s new religious symbols law and his decision to run a campaign ad in Quebec that shows him without his turban. At first joking that the move was about showing off his hair, the party leader clarified that there is no dictate in Sikhism that says he cannot show his hair, and that the move was partly about showing Quebec that the turban is not a threat
“I want to be an ally for Quebec and that means showing people who I am and where I stand,” he said. “I want to show an openness to Quebec. I know how important it is to defend one’s identity.”
On whether or not he would challenge the law, Singh deferred to the current legal challenge the legislation is facing rather than answering the question directly, but he also stated that, “I want people to know that I won’t back down from doing the right thing, even if it is hard.”