The Liberal party of Quebec is pointing out the inexperience of the Coalition Avenir Quebec government and how the details of its messages often change.

They mentioned how what ministers said before and after this week's cabinet meeting did not match.

In one case, Junior Health and Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant said before Wednesday's meeting that he hoped to have the legal age for cannabis in Quebec raised to 21 as quickly as possible.

After leaving the meeting, Carmant said it may take until next spring or longer to table and pass the necessary legislation.

Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said Wednesday morning that Premier Francois Legault had been told to act as quickly as possible to ban the wearing of religious symbols by civil servants in a position of authority, and to ensure that it included a ban on the chador, a full-length garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the head and body, but not the face.

After the meeting Legault reiterated the position saying, "We think that the chador, a burqa and niqab are giving a message regarding equality between men and women with which we're not comfortable."

However he pointed out that including the chador in the ban was not a priority.

Liberal secularism critic Helene David said it highlights the team’s mixed messages.

“Twenty four hours for the CAQ is a very long day. In the morning, I was telling you I won't comment about the future bill because they can change their ideas. And yesterday night, I was perfectly right,” she said.

Anticosti flip-flop

The final altered message on Wednesday concerned oil and gas exploration on Anticosti island.

Natural resources minister Jonatan Julien said that the CAQ would examine the possibility of digging for oil and gas on the island in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.

He was contradicted by Economic minister Pierre Fitzgibbon who said "this was not a priority" and was not in the government's plans.

The notion was first advanced by the PQ government in 2014, but the Liberal government ended the project in 2017 and was instead moving forward with plans to get the island classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On Wednesday afternoon, Legault said the CAQ government "would follow the procedures set down by UNESCO."

Opposition leader Pierre Arcand called on the CAQ to straighten themselves out.

"I suggest really that the government should redo its act and make sure they come up with a firm position on this because every day we're talking about different matters, different policies, different positions. I think it's time for them to reassure Quebecers in the future and come up with something very precise," said Arcand.

The Liberals, though, are taking stock of the election results that reduced their MNAs to just 29.

“It's always good to have a sense of humility. Don't worry about that. We got the message on Oct. 1,” said Arcand.

“I think that when you are in government you are stuck with a lot of things to do and of course sometimes you have a tendency to forget what the people want,” he said.