MONTREAL - A prominent Quebec politician says the recent turmoil involving the Parti Quebecois is further proof the debate over independence should be put on the back burner.
Francois Legault, a former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister who once pushed for Quebec independence, is the head of a new right-of-centre political movement in the province.
Legault says PQ Leader Pauline Marois isn't the problem - the independence movement just isn't as popular as it once was.
Legault made the comments at a youth conference in Montreal today.
They come only days after a group of sovereigntists wrote a public manifesto slamming the Parti Quebecois as a spent force in the fight for independence.
The group, composed of former members of both the PQ and the Bloc Quebecois, is scheduled to hold a meeting in Montreal on Sunday.
Legault's political movement, called the Coalition for Quebec's Future, promises to focus on economic and social reforms and shelve the debate over sovereignty for at least a decade.
Legault is planning to tour the province this fall and is expected to eventually form a political party.
