Premier Couillard, Anglophones and the Press

DEAR EDITOR,

On April 5th, I accepted an invitation by the Quebec Liberal Party to attend and participate at a Town Hall meeting set for April 22, 2018. The 'Gathering' was specifically designed to hear the worries of the English-speaking community.

Something quite unusual happened at the meeting, which was divided into three parts.

The first was a half hour campaign rally-type speech by Premier Couillard, who basically said he really cares for the anglophone community and their institutions, such as elected school boards.

This was followed by a question and answer period, on stage, where MNA David Birnbaum posed questions to fellow MNAS:

Kathleen Weil, Minister responsible for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers; Carlos Leitão , Finance Minister and André Fortin, Minister of Transport.

Before the last part started, the press was told to leave the meeting.

Consequently, the media was deprived to hear from about 250 anglophones, who had been encouraged to express "what was on their minds" regarding "issues of concern."

This is disturbing on several levels. No press means no transparency. It also means that those who respond cannot be held accountable in the future.

Most important, this is unfortunate because the community relies on the press to report on matters so it may make informed choices when voting.

CHRIS EUSTACE (PIERREFONDS), MONTREAL, PQ