Live – Quebec election: African-Canadians feel like ‘second-class citizens’ in wake of Legault’s immigration comments, groups say

Article content

Updated throughout the day on Friday, Sept. 30. Questions/comments: [email protected]

Article content

Article content

Top updates

Article content

2:20 p.m.

Demographics and anger rattle a Liberal bastion on the West Island

In its 40-plus years of existence, Marquette riding on the West Island has always been a red riding. But a sure bet seems less so this time around.

Read our full story, by Jason Magder.

2 p.m.

Quebec election promise tracker: Who’s saying what ahead of Oct. 3 vote?

Here is where the five major parties stand on some major themes, including the economy, health care, immigration and identity issues.

Read our full story.

1:40 p.m.

Opinion: It’s time for Quebec anglos to make a statement

“Keeping all our eggs in the Liberal basket would be a sign of weakness, I feel; almost an admission that we accept the status quo.”

Read Robert Libman’s full column.

Article content

1:40 p.m.

Duhaime accused of playing political games by rejecting Bill 96

The Canadian Party of Quebec is accusing the Quebec Conservative Party of being disingenuous when it comes to supporting the fundamental rights of the English community.

CPaQ Leader Colin Standish released an internal memo written to Conservative Party members that discussed the position that should be taken on Bill 96.

Read our full story, by Jason Magder.

1:30 p.m.

African-Canadians feel like ‘second-class citizens’ in wake of Legault’s immigration comments, groups say

Groups representing African-Canadians today said many of their members feel like “second-class citizens” in Quebec in the wake of recent statements by François Legault, the incumbent premier and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, and Jean Boulet, a CAQ candidate and current immigration minister.

Article content

They said they fear that “systemic xenophobia” will develop in Quebec.

In a statement, the African Federation of Canada and presidents of national associations of African countries said they “strongly condemn” the “‘outrageous’ remarks” made by Legault and Boulet.

Legault apologized after appearing to link immigration with violence and extremism. Boulet apologized after he said that “80 per cent of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society.”

“These actions by senior officials of the government of Quebec contribute to conveying … the prejudice of the parasitic immigrant. Should the premier be reminded that immigrants get their right residency following a selection process at the end of which they obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate, that these immigrants must also pass the Quebec values ​​test?”

Article content

They added: “Does the current government of Quebec, which denies the existence of systemic racism, also want to develop systemic xenophobia … in the public service, educational institutions, daycares, hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, factories or other trades in Quebec?”

The groups called on Legault to “take strong action that will contradict the feeling felt by the immigrants, to be considered second-class citizens in Quebec.”

The signatories:

Article content

1 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know about voting on election day

Almost one-quarter of eligible voters have already cast ballots in advance polling.

The last chance to vote is Monday, Oct. 3, with polling stations open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters must bring identification to the polls. Elections Quebec says one of the following types of identification will do:

Anyone who doesn’t have one of those documents can declare under oath that they are the person entered on the list of electors. They must be accompanied by a person to attest to their identity or bring certain documents specified by Elections Quebec.

Article content

The provincial agency says it has mailed yellow reminder cards to all households with information about voting locations. Election workers can quickly direct you to your polling table if you present that card on election day.

If you don’t know your riding, you can check by entering your address in a form on the Elections Quebec site. The results will also include the names of the candidates in your riding.

To learn where to vote, use the form on this Elections Quebec page.

12:55 p.m.

Duhaime will not mark Truth and Reconciliation Day

Éric Duhaime’s campaign won’t mark the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Friday.

The Conservative Party of Quebec leader told reporters he is too busy to mark the day, which commemorates Indigenous victims of brutality over the past centuries.

Article content

Read our full story, by Jason Magder.

12:35 p.m.

Legault defends decision to hire private firm to help manage pandemic

At a campaign stop in Amos, François Legault defended the use of McKinsey & Company, saying it was money well spent.

“It was a decision by the civil servants to give this mandate to McKinsey,” Legault told reporters. “The objective – and I agree with the objective – was to see what’s happening in Europe and other countries and do some benchmarking and try, in this very important crisis, to take the best measures to protect lives.

“I think it was important and I think they made a good decision to do so. It wasn’t a political decision,” Legault added. “I know McKinsey is expensive. I knew that even when I was in the private sector. But they are the ones doing most of these studies in the world.”

Article content

Read our full story, by Jason Magder and Philip Authier.

12:30 p.m.

Quebec could have consulted its own doctors rather than bring in private firm amid pandemic, immunologist says

André Veillette, an immunologist at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute, says Quebec could have consulted its own doctors instead of relying so heavily on consulting firm McKinsey & Company to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They could have consulted independent scientists from Quebec who are probably more informed and better at judging what is happening elsewhere in the world,” Veillette said on Twitter.

“We must not diminish the value of Quebec scientists. And it would have been free. And it would have been much faster.”

He was reacting to an investigation by Radio-Canada on the Legault government’s decision to rely heavily on McKinsey during the crisis.

Article content

Article content

Noon

Video: Party leaders explain their plans to fix Quebec’s health-care system

The Montreal Gazette invited the leaders of seven parties to meet with its editorial board.

In the video below, five of them explain their plans to fix Quebec’s health-care system.

The five are Liberal Dominique Anglade, Conservative Éric Duhaime, Québec solidaire’s Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Balarama Holness of Bloc Montréal and Colin Standish of the Canadian Party of Quebec.

Two leaders declined the invitations: the Coalition Avenir Québec’s François Legault and the Parti Québécois’ Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

Legault and St-Pierre Plamondon also declined invitations to take part in an English-language televised debate, which was subsequently cancelled.

Article content

Article content

11:35 a.m.

Anglade meets Plante

Article content

11:10 a.m.

PQ suspends campaign of candidate who made anti-Muslim comments on social media

The Parti Québécois has suspended the campaign of a candidate who made anti-Muslim comments on social media.

Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters he wants to speak with Pierre Vanier before deciding whether to permanently drop him as a candidate.

TVA has unearthed a series of posts by Vanier, the PQ candidate in Rousseau riding, northeast of Montreal.

In one post, Vanier questions the intelligence of women who wear Muslim veils.

He reshared a post that suggests Muslims want to “dominate and crush the infidels.”

About anglophones, Vanier wrote: “To the people of Quebec, never forget that the English wanted, still want and will always want to exterminate us.”

Article content

Vanier was once press attaché for Nicolas Marceau, a former PQ finance minister. His bio on the PQ site says he was also once a “sports statistician” at Le Journal de Montréal.

On Wednesday, St-Pierre Plamondon defended two other candidates who had posted controversial items.

One wondered why “visible minorities resist so much when they are arrested”; another suggested Islam does not belong in Quebec.

Article content

Article content

11:05 a.m.

McKinsey didn’t call the shots during pandemic, Legault’s chief of staff says

François Legault’s chief of staff is defending the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s decision to hire McKinsey & Company to help with the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“McKinsey helped (Quebec’s) senior civil service by sharing best practices from governments around the world,” Martin Koskinen said via Twitter.

But he said that to claim that it called the shots during the crisis “is false and even absurd.

“The Quebec senior public service has done everything to protect Quebecers. I will never reproach them for having consulted an external expert.

Article content

Article content

10:15 a.m.

Help Wanted: Elections Quebec is still looking for polling station workers

Three days before voting day, Elections Quebec is still short of employees in seven ridings.

Applications can be submitted online. Hourly wages range from $16.95 to $19.94.

The provincial agency today said it’s still looking for people to work in these ridings:

10 a.m.

‘Scandalous’ – PQ denounces CAQ’s outsourcing of pandemic management

The Conservatives aren’t the only ones outraged by Radio-Canada’s report on a private company’s role in the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We suspected it, but these revelations on how the CAQ has outsourced entire sections of the management of the pandemic are disturbing,” Joël Arseneau, a Parti Québécois candidate and incumbent MNA, said on Twitter.

Article content

“The opacity of the operation is nothing short of scandalous.”

Article content

Article content

Article content

9:50 a.m.

Duhaime demands inquiry after ‘disturbing’ report on private company’s role in pandemic management

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime is demanding an independent public inquiry into the role McKinsey & Company played in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec.

He was reacting to a Radio-Canada investigation that found the Legault government hasn’t given the public the whole story behind its pandemic planning.

The news organization delved into the role of McKinsey, a private consulting company that was paid $35,000 a day to advise the government on how to manage the crisis.

Duhaime complained the U.S.-based company, which received contracts without public tenders, wrote reports that featured Quebec government logos.

Article content

He said the company, which also worked for vaccine-maker Pfizer, appeared to have conflicts of interest.

“It’s shocking,” Duhaime said. “Who authorized these decisions?”

He added: “We need to know what happened there. Obviously, something is wrong.”

The Radio-Canada report said McKinsey had access to confidential government information.

The news outlet asked the Health Department what recommendations it had received from McKinsey regarding the pandemic. The department responded that it could not find any documents to that effect.

But Radio-Canada said it has dug up four documents and “numerous” emails that McKinsey sent to the department.

“What disturbs me is the lack of transparency, the total absence of transparency,” Duhaime said.

Article content

“What disturbs us is that governmental documents that feature the logo of the Quebec government were in fact written by an independent company.

“What disturbs me is that this company had contracts with a pharmaceutical company (Pfizer) when it was recommending to the government” that it have discussions with Pfizer and sign an agreement with Pfizer.

Watch the press conference:

8:45 a.m.

Tension on CAQ campaign bus, as reporter complains of limited access to Legault

There’s some tension on the Coalition Avenir Québec campaign bus.

Louis Lacroix, a radio reporter with Cogeco Nouvelles, has publicly complained about the amount of time the news media is being given to ask questions of François Legault, the CAQ leader and incumbent premier.

Lacroix said the CAQ only gave reporters access to Legault at one press conference in Abitibi yesterday.

“François Legault’s press secretary says that our questions are not going anywhere, anyway,” the reporter tweeted. “I condemn this completely inappropriate comment.”

Ewan Sauves, Legault’s press attaché, responded on Twitter.

“I didn’t use those terms,” Sauves tweeted. “I give all the time you need for your questions. Once the subjects are exhausted, I put an end to the scrums. You have access to all our events, without exception. Not sure I deserve professional humiliation on social media…”

8:40 a.m.

CAQ could win just two of 27 seats in Montreal – and 91 of 98 in the rest of Quebec, projections show

8:40 a.m.

Duhaime trailing CAQ candidate in Quebec City riding, poll suggests

8:35 a.m.

Anglade faces tight race in own riding, ‘double-edged sword’ as Liberal leader

While Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade has often spoken about the challenge of getting people across Quebec to know her during the 36-day election campaign, she is also in a tight race in her own riding.

Read our full story, by Jesse Feith.

8:35 a.m.

Nadeau-Dubois warns Montreal business audience about risks of climate inaction

Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has warned a Montreal business audience about the economic risks of climate inaction.

Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal at the Palais des congrès, Nadeau-Dubois announced that his party intends to invest $1 billion in the residual forest biomass sector in a first mandate and $1.5 billion in the battery industry — “two key sectors of the ecological transition.”

Read our full story.

8:35 a.m.

It’s up to the people to decide future of Rouyn-Noranda smelter, Legault says

While not excluding a referendum to decide the fate of a controversial copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda linked to arsenic emissions, François Legault said ultimately it will up to the people to decide the way forward.

Read our full story, by Philip Authier.

8:30 a.m.

What are the five major parties taking part in Quebec’s provincial election?

Here’s a look at the five parties vying to form Quebec’s next government.

Read our full story.

8:30 a.m.

Election Guide: What you need to know about the campaign and voting

How do you check if you’re on the electoral list? Are you allowed to vote? When can ballots be cast?

Read our full story.

8:30 a.m.

Sign up for our free Quebec election newsletter

Follow all the action along Quebec’s 2022 provincial election campaign trail with coverage and analysis from the experts at the Montreal Gazette.

Delivered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m.

You can sign up here.

[email protected]

Read my previous live blogs here.