Liberal leader Philippe Couillard is accusing the minority-governing PQ of contriving the ongoing secularism debate as a method of hiding from its poor economic record since taking power.
He suggested Friday that the government spend more time trying to get Quebecers back to work, citing the most recent economic numbers that indicate that the Quebec unemployment rate has crept up from 7.9 to 8.2 percent and that 30,000 jobs were lost in the process.
“The Parti Quebecois continues its policy of division, literally manufacturing a crisis to change the subject,” he said.
Couillard argued that a strong economy is an essential component to the successful integration of newcomers.
“The government should have a visible and daily obsession with the economy and employment. This is what feeds our freedom of choice. This is what constitutes our ability to adopt an identity and attract people to it,” he said Friday after a two-day caucus meeting in Riviere du Loup.
Couillard said the upcoming months will be busy for the party, as he continues to tour Quebec and he participates in regional seminars and a conference in November.
Couillard will not be sitting in the upcoming session of the provincial legislature, as he declined a chance to run in an upcoming Montreal-area election in the Viau riding, preferring instead to wait until the next general election to run near his home in the Saguenay.
Some observers expect a general election to be held as early as next spring.
