No quick compromises on values plan, Parti Quebecois says
The Parti Quebecois government appears to be digging in its heels for an extended debate on its controversial religion plan, having brushed off invitations for a speedy compromise.
Statements from senior ministers Wednesday suggest the PQ has no intention of watering down the plan for quick passage in the current minority legislature.
One day after one minister expressed a willingness to “improve” the charter, the government made it clear the changes it envisioned would be minor and would not dilute its basic elements.
The third party in the legislature has offered to negotiate a deal on a bill, but another minister, the one spearheading the proposed Charter of Values, said he’d rather hear from Quebecers first.
A government website promoting the charter has received 10,000 comments and Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for the plan, told reporters the debate could continue for many “weeks.”
He welcomed the Coaltion party’s offer — but expressed no inclination to accept it any time soon.
“It’s a debate that’s too important,” Drainville said Wednesday.
“We have to leave Quebecers the time. These are their values.”
The push for a long debate is not without risks. For first time Wednesday, a poll placed the PQ values plan in negative-popularity territory, as more opposed than supported. It was the second consecutive survey to show declining support for the idea of banning religious headwear for public servants while at work.
Since the plan appears stalled in the minority legislature, in its present form, the PQ has two obvious options: strip it down to pass it quickly, or preserve it for possible use later as an election promise.
The PQ showed little eagerness Wednesday to pass it quickly.
If the issue winds up becoming an election plank it would likely give the PQ two hot-button identity issues for its platform: the Marois government has already said it expects that its language law, Bill 14, will die on the order paper of the current legislature.
The PQ response came a day after Coalition Leader Francois Legault urged the government to accept a watered-down version of the charter and spare the province a “social crisis.”