MONTREAL - Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced Friday that he will indeed give an inaugural address, which gives him the right to prorogue the National Assembly's work until the end of the month.
The legislature's spring session is still slated to begin Tuesday, but at any point after the opening of the session, Charest can announce he is suspending it to give him time to work on his speech.
Charest said Friday at a Montreal meeting of partners in the Liberal Party's massive northern development plan that he intends to give his speech by the end of the month – and not surprisingly, he intends to make the speech's focus the economy.
"We're at a point where we need to look ahead, as the economy starts to pick up, and ask ourselves, ‘Where does Quebec want to be in the world? Where do we want to be?'" Charest told reporters.
Of course, by announcing he will give this speech, Charest can also avoid the planned attacks announced by Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois last week on shale gas, the alleged corruption in the construction industry and the province's public debt.
Avoiding those issues is exactly what PQ House Leader Stephane Bedard accused Charest of doing.
"Quebec will be paralyzed for a good while," he said. "He's just announced he's paralyzing Quebec."
For his part, Charest says the speech will allow him and his government to share their vision of the future at the midpoint of its mandate, and he considers it perfectly normal to do so.
But reaching a midpoint of a mandate also means a run-up to an election is not that far around the corner, and Charest was sounding a but like a man gearing up for that fateful day ahead.
"I know and I will lay out my vision," Charest said. "We know where Mme. Marois wants to bring us – directly into a head-on collision with a referendum."
The announcement caps a three-day stretch where Charest also replaced his chief of staff and proceeded with a cabinet shuffle.
