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Montreal Gazette
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Libman: Referendum pledge puts PQ leader in a bind
Last week's Léger poll on provincial sovereignty in Canada contained an eye-popping revelation: Among all provinces, Quebec had the greatest proportion of respondents 'opposed' to separation, at 59 per cent. Support for sovereignty was tagged at 33 per cent, near where it's been hovering for years. It's lower than support in Manitoba/Saskatchewan and well behind the 41 per cent in Alberta. Ontario was at 31 per cent. Having the highest number against sovereignty was explained by the fact that most Quebecers are already decided on the question, while in other provinces there were more who didn't answer. With a Quebec election next year, this is a warning light on Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's dashboard, putting him in a tight spot. After the separatist party suffered its worst defeat in its history, reduced to just three seats, PSPP had to consolidate the PQ base — and he defiantly committed to holding a sovereignty referendum in his first term if elected. Despite being numerically marginalized in the National Assembly, the PQ MNAs were able to generate catchy headlines, like refusing to swear allegiance to the King in the oath of office, which was subsequently changed. As voters grew weary of François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec government, combined with a weakened and leaderless Liberal party, the PQ suddenly found itself leading in polls as the default option where Quebecers were parking their vote, and has led ever since. The commitment to a sovereignty referendum, however, could become the PQ's biggest hurdle in transforming its current lead into a victory in next year's election. We're entering an unpredictable political maze now in Quebec, with polls containing many ifs, ands or buts: The CAQ is seemingly in free fall. Will Legault be pushed to resign, with the hope for a momentous turnaround like the federal Liberals? The Quebec Liberal Party support among francophone voters is only 10 per cent. Will its new leader — to be chosen in two weeks — be able to change that? The PQ leads the polls with 33 per cent support, but 30 per cent of its own voters are against separation — and only 24 per cent of Quebecers think PSPP would make the best premier. PSPP has had a fairly easy ride so far in opposition, left free to launch his attacks. But as federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has learned, that's different from positioning yourself as leader of a government. And the leadership question will only draw more attention as the election comes into sharper focus. Just last week PSPP was on the defensive for taking the populist position that Quebec should lower its carbon pricing — then was pressured to answer to environmental concerns and where he would account for the $1.5-billion shortfall in government revenues. PSPP generated more headlines this week with a motion calling to cut ties with the monarchy, criticizing what many saw as an archaic spectacle in Ottawa and ridiculing the notion that having King Charles read the throne speech would impress U.S. President Donald Trump as an expression of Canadian sovereignty. Many, particularly Quebecers, believe that clinging to the monarchy is a wasteful expense in this day and age. But calling the monarchy hostile toward Quebec and francophones, which PSPP also levelled at Mark Carney, comes across as foolish rhetorical excess. In the recent federal election, a majority of Quebec voters saw Carney as the adult in the room. They want stability and poise during these uncertain times with Trump in the White House. The turbulent prospect of another Quebec sovereignty referendum would bring the opposite. Once chosen, the next Quebec Liberal leader should immediately start hounding PSPP on if and when he would call a referendum, which most Quebecers decidedly don't want. Will he back down, or will the PQ's raison d'être again become its biggest obstacle to power?
Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Freed: The King, the Donald and the future of Quebec
The big surprise about our visit from the 'King of Canada' was that Quebecers didn't care. Sure, the usual nationalist suspects went on about the 'insult to democracy.' But most Quebecers yawned and shrugged. In short, they acted like Canadians, 83 per cent of whom said they 'didn't care' about King Charles's visit (while Quebecers polled 90 per cent). In fact, most Canadians would like to dump the monarchy. But for that we'd have to reopen the dreaded Constitution: a Pandora's box that would quickly have every province demanding something in exchange. Alberta would want a pipeline in every home, Quebec the exclusive world rights to the words 'distinct' and 'special.' Ontario would demand recognition as the official 'centre of the universe' and B.C. a guarantee it can keep complaining about housing prices, while sipping $8 lattes. Negotiations would continue until shortly after the death of the universe. So instead of going there, we all just shrugged at the King's visit. But the francophone shrug seems part of a larger recent shrug about Quebec nationalism in general. How? Let's connect some dots. First dot: In the recent election, Quebecers single-handedly saved the Liberals. They saw the only election issue as TrumpAmerica, with a Carney-united strong Canada as their best defence. That's why Quebec originally joined Canada. As Father-of-Confederation George-Étienne Cartier put it, 'Quebec must join' Confederation 'or be absorbed' by America. For proof Cartier was right, visit New England, where you'll see names like Lavoy (formerly Lavoie), Wallet (Ouellet) and Packet (Paquette). Their owners often don't know their names were once French. As Quebecers grow closer to Canada, it's a bad time to promise a Quebec referendum, as PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon keeps doing. In a recent poll, even one-third of PQ voters said they were 'not in favour' of Quebec sovereignty. Let alone young Quebecers. In another recent poll, 80 per cent of francophones under 35 were 'proud to live in Canada,' while young people in English Canada polled 74 per cent. Young Quebecers are now bigger Canadian nationalists than young English Canadians. The only place separatism is rising is Alberta. Will young Québécois someday fly en masse to Calgary, waving maple leafs and begging Albertans to stay in Canada? So what's behind these changes? Second dot: Recent generations of Quebecers have lived different experiences than their nationalist elders. Their parents and grandparents felt kept down by English Canada and some may still hold a grudge, including our premier. But younger Quebecers have grown up with francophones running Quebec (while we anglos feel like a threatened minority). These young francophones have no personal resentment pushing them toward independence. They don't even have any interest in it. Many travel and work in Canada, especially out West, and feel as comfortable there as I did at their age. Like young people everywhere, they also love the English-dominated internet, video games and Taylor Swift, but they also love popular French Quebec shows like La Voix. You can see how older nationalists might worry about this dual attachment. As a woman at a French book launch told me: 'I'm much less nationalist than when I was young, but my three kids — forget it! If I even say the word independence, they think I'm a fossil.' I sometimes wonder if the urgency some older nationalists feel for sovereignty is because they don't trust their kids to follow. It's easier for cabinet ministers to beat up on English guitar-string labels than tell their kids to stop speaking English. Like kids everywhere, they'd probably just do the opposite. Third dot: Recent generations of francophones have gone to school with the whole planet. When I grew up, most immigrants went to English schools because they couldn't get into French Catholic ones. So francophones were rarely exposed to them. But today's post-Bill 101 francophones have shared classes with the world — including students in turbans and hijabs — and you see them all socializing together on The Main at night. Quebec will always have periodic waves of nationalism to protect its language, but currently French is doing well, despite its doomsayers. So younger francophones seem confident about themselves and their language, within Canada. Last dot: All of the above is partly why Quebec Liberals are neck-and-neck with the PQ in polls and way ahead of Legault's CAQ. Quebec sometimes moves in giant swerves, or quiet revolutions — and we may be on the cusp of one, set off bizarrely by, yes, Donald Trump. Still, you can never predict long-term politics (see America), so I'm not making promises. Perhaps an unpopular Legault will quit and be replaced by someone more appealing? Or the PQ will drop its referendum pledge and risk a sovereignist hardliner rebellion? Maybe Trump will suddenly outlaw french fries, french toast and french kisses in America, provoking a new wave of French Quebec nationalism. Who can say, but for now the ground is ripe for another Quebec swerve, perhaps away from independence. Trump has already changed the arc of current Canadian history. He may yet do the same for Quebec, ending an era of 'Le Québec aux Québécois!' and starting one of 'Le Québec pour un Canada Uni!'
Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Trip of a lifetime for Nunavik students who ‘deserve the world'
News By Some of the girls playfully chased each other while others batted balloons back and forth as they waited for the Ubers that would take them to the next stop on their field trip. But then Jini Papikattuk, who had just given them a tour of Nunavik Sivunitsavut, which offers post-secondary courses in the St-Henri district, began her farewell message in a mix of Inuktitut and English. The screeching and commotion of 20 girls, aged 11 to 15, suddenly stopped. The Inuit population worldwide is 180,000, Papikattuk told the group, which had arrived in Montreal with their teachers from the northern Quebec village of Salluit last Saturday. 'And in our region, we're only 14,000,' Papikattuk said, referring to Nunavik, which has 14 communities that include Salluit. 'So we're rare. We're rarer than a diamond.' Papikattuk's words seemed to resonate with the girls, who are on an eight-day trip to Montreal and Ottawa that was more than a year in the making. Thanks to their fundraising, they're being treated to the trip of a lifetime, including visits to La Ronde, the Montreal Science Centre and the Biodôme, pizza-making, nice hotels, shopping with their idol, Inuk-Mohawk singer and actress Beatrice Deer, and a tour of the Governor General's residence, Rideau Hall. What's your favourite place so far, they were asked? 'Everywhere,' two girls answered, almost in unison and without hesitation. 'I said it was going to be fun and I wanted to come to Montreal,' Lizzie, 12, said of why she had worked hard to be part of this group — the 'Girls Group,' as it's called by the four teachers at Ikusik school in Salluit who created it almost two years ago. This is their inaugural trip. The group was conceived to build life skills, self-esteem and a sense of community, Julianna Krupp, one of the teachers and organizers, said. 'We're really trying to build confidence, just showing the girls that in their future they can do anything they put their minds to,' she said. 'That's really the foundation of our girls' group. We want to show them that their hard work pays off.' Maintaining a good school attendance record is one of the criteria for membership in the Girls Group. That's not a given in communities experiencing trauma, severe poverty and overcrowding, and reeling from fatal police interventions. 'They deserve the world,' Krupp said of the girls. 'They go through so much every day and they still show up.' 'We give them some rules,' said Kemmley Charles, who like her colleagues is in her second year of teaching at Ikusik. The school belongs to the Nunavik school board, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq. 'They have to be responsible, they have to work, they have to be respectful, they have to come to school. And that motivates them because they know that if they do all that stuff, they can come on this trip.' The tour on Monday of the facility where Papikattuk teaches was meant to show the girls what's open to them if they continue their studies, said Olivia Hadar, another Ikusik teacher and group organizer. 'It was a labour of love,' she said of the hours that were dedicated to activities with the girls, such as sleepovers, as well as writing proposals, fundraising and planning the trip. The Girls Group even developed a community event during the past year. The group hosts a monthly elders' dinner where the girls serve meals, like caribou stew, to older people at the school. 'I'm seeing them smile,' Hadar said of the girls. 'It's so nice to see.' The school board has other projects to encourage students to stick with their studies, said Rochelle Mathurin, a student support professional at Ikusik and another founder of the Girls Group. For example, the board is preparing the annual Nunavimmiut Futures Fair in different villages, including Salluit, this October. 'It's so the students can learn about future opportunities with employers,' Mathurin said, adding that the event will end with a community feast. The itinerary for the trip was developed by the four teachers, who wanted to combine kid fun and education. 'They're learning a lot,' said Sarah Alaku, who teaches at Ikusik and joined her colleagues to chaperone the trip. Alaku, who was born and raised in Salluit, and many of the girls have visited Montreal before — but not like this, she said. Her daughter, Hailey, 15, is a member of the Girls Group and on the trip. The group departed for Ottawa on Wednesday, where they were scheduled to meet the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, on Friday. Simon, who was born in Nunavik, is the first Indigenous person to serve as Governor General. However, she wasn't available at the last minute. One of the girls, who had an accident in a pool, stayed behind in Montreal with one of the teachers. But the group was to meet up again in Montreal late Friday before their scheduled flight home Saturday. It's a 10-hour trip back to Salluit. Among the highlights of Montreal for Sophie, 11, were staying at Hotel Bonaventure and visiting La Ronde. But Papikattuk's guided tour of Nunavik Sivunitsavut also left an impression. In partnership with John Abbott College, the facility offers 25 high school graduates from Nunavik a year of CEGEP-level courses that help them connect with their culture and, for many, transition to college. A message on a wall at Nunavik Sivunitsavut reads: 'Honour my culture with pride, pursue my ambitions with purpose and move forward with strength and love.' Papikattuk asked who would like to attend Nunavik Sivunitsavut when they're older, and most of the girls raised their hands, including Sophie. And when Papikattuk remarked that Quebec's Inuit population is rarer than a diamond, Hadar closed her eyes. They're all gems in the Girls Group, she said when she opened them. 'Sparkle like a diamond.'
Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Montreal Gazette
Montreal weather: What else is new, more rain coming
Environment Canada is forecasting cloudy skies Saturday with showers beginning in the morning. The wind will come from the northwest at 20 km/h, gusting to 40, in the morning. The high is expected to be 16 with an UV index of 3, or moderate. A few showers will end in the evening, then mainly cloudy. Overnight will see a west wind at 20 km/h, gusting to 40, with a low of 10.
Montreal Gazette
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Health care isn't an assembly line
I think we should be very concerned that Bill 106 proposes to link up to 25 per cent of a doctor's pay to various performance objectives. As a student, I worked on an engine assembly line. The salary was indirectly tied to the number of engines produced. That measure seems reasonable for industrial production. However, I become nervous as a patient when a doctor, in analyzing our health issues, is pressured by performance objectives. Humans are different, and symptoms and conditions are not the same for all. Our daughter graduated almost 10 years ago as a doctor specializing in anesthesiology. Quebec had no residency available for her, but she was offered one in Alberta. She preferred to work instead of waiting another year and hoping for an opening here, so off she went out west. She could come home to Quebec, but would earn less than in Alberta, be chided by politicians to work more, and have no work-life balance. Why should she consider it? Ragnar Radtke, Beaconsfield Democracy in decline under CAQ Re: ' Dubé's bill could push physicians out, doctors warn ' and ' French-language sign rules kick in June 1, and non-compliance penalties are stiff ' (The Gazette, May 28) I wonder just when it was that our governments — and the Coalition Avenir Québec in particular — decided it was their responsibility to arbitrarily impose legislation and regulations onto the backs of taxpayers they purportedly have been elected to represent and serve. Aren't our doctors and retailers significant enough stakeholders in society to be encouraged rather than punished by the province? Unfortunately, under Premier François Legault, Quebec seems to have adopted an Orwellian 'Big Brother knows best' authoritarian mode of government with its unilateral implementation of whatever the CAQ decides is in the best interest of Quebecers. As a result, democracy — famously defined by Abraham Lincoln as 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' — appears to be rapidly disappearing in Quebec. One can only hope that next year's provincial election may help remedy the situation. Eric Bender, Kirkland Grand adventure in art of listening Re: ' N.S. man embarks on 'listening tour' across Canada ' (The Gazette, May 20) As a former oncology social worker at a major teaching hospital in Montreal, I can well appreciate the value of compassionate listening and how it can bring untold benefits to the heart, mind and spirit of someone who desperately needs to be heard. The art of listening is a gift. Too often, people and patients who earnestly wish to express deeply held emotions are cut off by those being spoken to with the offer of deceptive comfort — 'don't worry, everything is going to be all right.' Retired social worker Paul Jenkinson has embarked upon a 'listening tour' across Canada. He creates a safe space and listens to those who need to speak their mind, providing a most meaningful example of catharsis. The Dalai Lama effectively sums up Jenkinson's 'grand adventure' with his quote: 'Love and kindness are not a luxury, but a source of health and happiness for others and ourselves.' Brahms E. Silver, Côte-St-Luc Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
