Legault says he wants to 'focus' on these five top priorities

In his first public appearance of the year, François Legault said he wanted to 'refocus' on his priorities and avoid 'distractions.'

quebec's premier and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has had a difficult 2023. On Wednesday, in front of his caucus members in Sherbrooke, he said he wanted to get back to basics.

Legault named five priorities: education, health, the economy, the environment and Quebec identity. He also admitted that there was still a lot of work to be done on housing.

He promoted his new accelerated construction training program, encouraging Quebecers to sign up, saying that Hydro-Québec alone would need 35,000 more people.

Incidentally, he added, "there's no question of privatizing and denying the legacy of René Lévesque, let's be very clear about that." For some weeks now, the CAQ has been defending its intention to denationalize Hydro-Québec.

"In 2024, especially in the session that's starting, we really want to refocus, to be able to concentrate on these five priorities," said the premier.

"We're going to wish ourselves a good political year with, how shall I put it, fewer distractions than in 2023," he added. The CAQ caucus continues until Thursday. Parliament resumes next Tuesday.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 24, 2024.