Jacques Parizeau pushes for more Quebec sovereignty talk in his new book

MONTREAL - Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois is defending her decision to place future sovereignty referendums on the back burner as an old warhorse of the independence movement pushes for more debate on the national unity question.

Former PQ premier Jacques Parizeau says in his new book on Quebec independence that the party must continue building programs for a government that will one day lead a sovereign Quebec.

Parizeau came within a whisker of winning the 1995 referendum on sovereignty.

The 79-year-old is considered a hero of Quebec's hard-line sovereigntists.

Marois is defending her decision to put the timetable for another referendum on ice.

Marois says the ideas in Parizeau's book are already part of the PQ's game plan.

Parizeau argues in his book that Quebec independence is necessary in an increasingly globalized world.