Quebec premier's opening speech in national assembly nothing but a rehash, opposition parties say
Quebec premier's opening speech in national assembly nothing but a rehash, opposition parties say
Opposition parties were left "disappointed" Wednesday with François Legault's hour-and-15-minute inaugural speech in the national assembly that they say contained nothing new.
Reacting to the speech, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) said there were three issues in particular where their disappointment was "particularly strong."
"First, the premier continues to call the labour shortage good news, when, in fact, it is a catastrophe," said QLP interim leader Marc Tanguay.
"Second, he did not see fit to announce any new measures to help Quebecers fight the rising cost of living, merely repeating what is already known."
This is "clearly insufficient," according to Tanguay.
"The government has been in power for four years, the results are not there ... and in today's speech, we have not seen … any new measures," the interim leader said.
"Let's continue ... not to have results on the main issues," he said mockingly, referring to the election campaign slogan of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), which was "Let's continue."
'SAME OLD SPEECH,' SAYS QUEBEC SOLIDAIRE
On the environment file, "it's the same old speech," according to Québec solidaire (QS).
"It's repeating that Quebec is already among the best. This is not false, except that we are the best among the worst,'' said the party's co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
"It is easy to say that we are better than the United States and Canada. They are oil-producing countries. It's as if the Montreal Canadiens were saying, 'I'm better than the BB atom in Pointe-Saint-Charles."
On the other hand, Legault has polished his language, but he continues to designate immigration as a threat to the Quebec nation, according to Nadeau-Dubois.
He continues to use the wrong indicators in the language debate, he added.
"What we need to debate is French as a language of use, as a language of work. It's not up to the premier to manage what language people speak when they tuck their kids in at night," the QS co-leader said.
In his speech, Legault expressed concern about the sharp decline in the use of French, particularly in Montreal, saying that the trend must be reversed.
In doing so, he "disavowed" his Bill 96, which was supposed to strengthen the protection of French, according to Parti Québécois (PQ) MNAs.
"We finally realize that it didn't work," said Pascal Bérubé, the MNA for Matane.
"This is a disavowal," said PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. "We will hope that beyond the declarations, we move forward in terms of public policy."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 30, 2022.
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Protracted labour shortages in Canada could fuel more rapid wage growth and inflation over time, potentially prompting the need for higher interest rates long-term, a new RBC Economics report released Wednesday said.
The Bank of Canada released a summary of its Governing Council meetings on Wednesday, providing the public and financial institutions with more insight into the central bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate on Jan. 25.
An Ontario lawyer who filed a $229-million lawsuit against his former “sugar baby” for alleged fraud had his case dismissed after the court found he'd become "obsessed" with the young woman when she attempted to end their arrangement.
An Ontario grocery chain said they are seeing an “unprecedented” surge in customers after a recent TikTok revealing the company’s low food prices went viral.
Nova Scotia Health is under the microscope after eight employees were found snooping into medical records. The privacy breaches involve the electronic health records of people associated with the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, among others.
Former London, Ont. high school teacher Dustin Epp, 48, was supposed to appear for his sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon, but the matter has been delayed until next week due to health-related concerns and to give Epp more time to prepare his legal defence.
A 20-year-old driver from London, Ont. is temporarily without a licence after OPP stopped them for allegedly driving 145 km/h in a 60 km/h zone on Tuesday night.
A thief was siphoning fuel from trucks on York Street in London before a massive fire broke out in a storage yard. U-Haul told CTV News London an explosion occurred at 745 York St. around 1 a.m. Hours later, a photographer from the London Police Service Forensics Division was on scene taking photos of charred vehicles.
The wait is over for ticketholders in the latest Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's Ultimate Dream Home Draw as Pure Country Sudbury morning show hosts pulled the names of the prize winners Wednesday afternoon.
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
The Calgary Police Service asked residents of a northwest neighbourhood to shelter in their homes as officers responded to a situation Wednesday morning involving a firearm.
A memorial has been set up in the area where 30-year-old Karen Cunningham’s body was found, as police in Woodstock continue to investigate her death as “suspicious” in nature.
Crews are scheduled to begin upgrade work on Vancouver's Granville Bridge next week, but officials are promising the impacts on traffic will be minimal.
The latest B.C. Labour Market Outlook forecasts employment in the province will reach 3.1 million jobs by 2032 – half a million more than there were last year.
Animal welfare advocates are urging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets after two kittens were found abandoned in a child's backpack in the St. Albert area last week.
As Canada’s premiers rush to absorb the impact of this funding, healthcare leadership in Windsor-Essex is also curious how it will impact the many systemic issues that plague our system.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
A Saskatoon couple is left feeling powerless to help their family and friends dig out of the rubble following the two major earthquakes in Turkiye on Monday.
Saskatoon's Ward 3 city councillor David Kirton decided to cancel his “Coffee with the Councillor” event scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Confederation Mall because of what he calls threatening phone calls and emails which became a “cause for concern”.
