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Leaders'
debate unleashes sovereignty
Until Monday's televised leaders' debate, the sovereignty issue had only been lurking in the background of this campaign. But, much to Parti Québécois leader Bernard Landry's chagrin, the issue has exploded into controversy and is likely to be what voters will remember most from the verbal sparring match. The PQ leader had been doing his best in this campaign to keep a lid on his party's sovereignist intentions, despite criticism from core PQ supporters for soft-pedaling—even hiding—the issue.
The question about Quebec's political future was the last issue of the evening and Liberal leader Jean Charest used it to throw a curve ball at Landry. Charest said that Jacques Parizeau, campaigning for the PQ in Shawinigan earlier in the day, had repeated his infamous assertion that blamed the loss of the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty on "money and the ethnic vote."Asked if he agreed with Parizeau's comments, the wind was knocked out of Landry's sails for a brief instant. Then Landry replied, "No." But Charest kept steamrolling, asking whether sovereignty was a higher priority than health care. Landry was evasive. He was staring down the possibility of alienating core sovereignists, on the one hand, or displeasing the soft vote he's been working so hard to woo in this campaign. Charest took the same aggressive tone with Mario Dumont, telling the Action Démocratique du Québec leader he had a "moral obligation" to tell Quebecers exactly where he stands on the issue of sovereignty. A relaxed Dumont, didn't hesitate. "I respect the decision Quebecers made in 1995 to work within the Canadian federation," he said. "That's what we'll keep working on." Then Dumont turned to Landry on the sovereignty issue. "Quebecers will arrive at sovereignty without being pushed, if ever they really want it," Dumont told Landry. To which Landry replied, "I hope when that day arrives, I have you with me, to build, with all generations, the Quebec of tomorrow." Landry later told Dumont that he would dissociate the former premier from the PQ campaign if Charest's report proved true. At a post-debate news conference, Landry told reporters the Liberal leader was mistaken. "My sources tell me that Parizeau said, 'I had unfortunate remarks in '95 and I don't want to reiterate them,'" Landry said. However, a tape of Parizeau's speech, recorded by Radio-Canada, shows Parizeau did repeat his analysis of the 1995 referendum defeat. He said the vote of the "ethnic community" has traditionally not sided with sovereignists.
Parizeau went on to say that the trend is changing, and that the children of immigrants vote "like us."
Faced with this, Landry had another unpalatable choice to make, lest he be seen as someone who goes back on a promise, even before voters have gone to the polls. But if he excommunicated Parizeau, Landry would again jeopardize his support from core sovereignists. So as Landry waited for Parizeau to explain himself, Parizeau was asking for an apology from Charest, saying his comments had been taken out of context. Parizeau then announced he would bow out of the campaign, saving Landry from having to make the politically explosive choice. Other issues? Of course, the leaders' debate did deal with other issues, such as managing Quebec's finances, health care and the family.
Charest attacked the PQ record, targetting health care and the multi-billion dollar deficit run up by Quebec's pension fund, the Caisse de Dépôt. Dumont paraded his message that the province needs to tackle its debt, accusing both the Liberals and the PQ of ignoring the critical issue by concentrating only on the short-term. There was also talk of education vouchers, mergers and waiting lists, but there was no political home run. And after the broadcast was over, the barbs and quips of the debate faded amid the din surrounding Parizeau's comments. So coming out of the debate, the biggest winner was probably Charest, who managed to highlight sovereignty without drawing attention to his own vulnerability on the issue. Dumont has also attempted to make hay with the resurfacing constitutional debate. "Quebec's political old guard is trying to sidetrack matters with divisive discussions of the constitution, and I'll stand in their way," Dumont told supporters the day after the debate, casting himself yet again in as a political reformer. Charest had tried to steal the reformer title at the end of the debate, with a call to any voter who wanted a change to vote Liberal. He said a vote for the ADQ would simply split the anti-PQ vote.
Suddenly, with the sovereignty issue playing front and center in the days following the debate, Charest's call carries more weight. Federalists who may have been tempted by certain PQ or ADQ campaign offerings might now back away—exactly the scenario that Landry has been trying avoid since the campaign began. Related Stories:
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