The leaders of Quebec’s main political parties are continuing to appeal to voters with less than a week to go in the provincial election campaign. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), the Parti Québécois (PQ), Québec solidaire and the Quebec Conservatives (PCQ) are all expecting to win seats in the election. Élections Québec said Tuesday that nearly a quarter of all eligible voters had cast their ballots in advance polls. Immigration has dominated much of the campaign, and was a flashpoint for the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Conservatives on Tuesday. Both parties also promised to reduce the number of temporary immigrants and asylum seekers admitted in the province. The PQ has made the same pledges. Quebecers go to the polls on Oct. 5. Key details: Follow along for the latest updates: QS attack CAQ on homelessness file Québec Solidaire (QS) is criticizing the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), accusing it of abandoning municipalities in the face of the worsening homelessness crisis. According to QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, “the CAQ has completely abandoned municipalities in the face of this humanitarian crisis, which is the homelessness crisis,” and, to solve this problem, “we must tackle the housing crisis.” Ghazal was responding Wednesday morning to data published in La Presse, which reported that there are nearly 200 tents in the homeless encampment on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal—100 more than last spring. “That’s why, in our plan, we want to provide 6,000 community-based social housing units for people experiencing homelessness, along with massive investment in psychosocial support to enable these individuals to get off the streets in the long term—not just give them a temporary roof over their heads,” said Ghazal during a press scrum near the Saint-Henri metro station in Montreal. “It will take investments in public services and social services—not ‘cuts like those proposed by the other parties,’” added Ghazal, who says she understands “the mayors who are at the end of their rope.” The QS spokesperson specifically referred to Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who explained in a TVA interview two weeks ago that she was considering legal measures to resolve the homelessness crisis after a toddler was found alone in the encampment on Notre-Dame Street. The Canadian Press ‘Not the time to increase immigration’: Fréchette CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette says she’s concerned about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s desire to increase immigration to Canada, insisting Quebec’s immigration thresholds must be respected. “I don’t think we’re in a situation where we need to increase immigration,” she said, admitting that she has not discussed the matter with Carney. “We’ll have to see how this plays out, and then we’ll have to respect the threshold adopted by the Quebec government. That’s non-negotiable.” Fréchette has said she wants to reduce the number of temporary immigrants to Quebec by between 81,000 and 156,000 in two areas controlled by Ottawa: asylum seekers and temporary foreign workers under the International Mobility Program (IMP). She is calling on the federal government to reduce processing times for asylum seekers and ensure a more equitable distribution across the country. The CAQ leader is also urging Ottawa to “renew the work permits of immigrants who are already settled in Quebec, who are already employed, whose children attend school and who have established their lives here.” In Rouyn-Noranda, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had suggested that an increase in immigration to Quebec decided by the Carney government would be an “antidemocratic abuse of power.” Québec solidaire spokesperson Ruba Ghazal stated that Quebec must have a say when it comes to immigration. The Canadian Press Milliard emphasizes nurse-to-patient ratios The Quebec Liberals say they want to mandate safer nurse-to-patient ratios in health care. The party’s Sainte-Rose candidate, Dr. Cécile Tremblay, a microbiologist-infectious disease specialist and clinician-researcher at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), explained that the goal is to better support nurses by adjusting their workload to the number of patients and the complexity of care. “Nurses who burn out and go on sick leave aren’t doing so because they’re lazy or because they take too much sick leave,” she said. “Better supporting these caregivers means providing them with better working conditions, preventing them from burning out and leaving the profession.” The Quebec Liberal Party says it plans to introduce legislation to establish mandatory minimum staffing ratios for nurses and workers in long-term care facilities (CHSLDs). The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) recommends a ratio of one nurse to four patients in emergency rooms and one nurse and one nursing assistant to six patients. In long-term care facilities (CHSLDs), it calls for one nurse and one nursing assistant for 20 patients during the day, 25 patients in the evening and 37 patients at night. The Canadian Press Homelessness: Québec solidaire accuses CAQ of abandoning municipalities Québec solidaire is accusing the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) of abandoning municipalities in the wake of a worsening homelessness crisis. “The CAQ has completely abandoned municipalities in the face of this humanitarian crisis,” said QS Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal. “We must tackle the housing crisis.” READ MORE: Ghazal’s comments were in response to data published by La Presse, which found that there are nearly 200 tents in the homeless encampment on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal — 100 more than last spring. “We want to provide 6,000 community-based social housing units for people experiencing homelessness, along with massive investment in psychosocial support to enable these individuals to get off the streets in the long term — not just give them a temporary roof over their heads,” said Ghazal. “It’s going to take investments in public services and social services,” she said. “[Not] cuts like those proposed by the other parties.” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada previously said in an interview with TVA two weeks ago that she was considering legal measures to resolve the homelessness crisis after a toddler was found alone at the camp on Notre-Dame Street. The Canadian Press PQ proposes Indigenous language, culture classes in schools The PQ says it is open to introducing Indigenous language and culture classes in elementary and high schools. The party says it plans to consult with First Nations and Inuit communities to “develop a plan aimed at strengthening the vitality of Indigenous languages throughout Quebec.” “Through the meetings that Pascal Paradis and I have held with various leaders in recent months, we have recognized the importance of rebuilding our relationship with Indigenous nations on a foundation of respect and dialogue,” he said. “That is why we are presenting commitments today that will foster mutual understanding and collaborative efforts necessary for reconciliation with First Nations and Inuit.” The Canadian Press PQ criticizes Mark Carney’s plan to increase immigration A decision to increase immigration to Quebec by Mark Carney’s federal government would be an “undemocratic abuse of power,” according to PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. In an interview with The New York Times, Carney had mentioned a controlled increase in immigration. However, St-Pierre Plamondon reiterated that Quebec is a democracy that can determine its own immigration thresholds, asserting that he has the public’s support in opposing the federal initiative, which he described as an “ideological drift.” “Quebec is a democracy. We will determine for ourselves the immigration levels that correspond to our capacity to welcome newcomers,” he said. “It is certainly not up to the federal government to act unilaterally, as it has often done in recent years.” The Canadian Press Greater autonomy for Indigenous: PCQ The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) says it is committed to granting greater autonomy to Indigenous nations, particularly when it comes to youth protection. On National Truth and Reconciliation Day, the PCQ released a document titled “Indigenous Platform,” stating that it would “include Indigenous nations in decision-making by enshrining voting seats for them at regional decision-making tables in the law.” The PCQ has promised to create 17 regional decision-making bodies to devolve more power to the regions. The party says it also wants to facilitate the preservation of Indigenous cultures, consult with Indigenous nations on projects that impact ancestral territories and collaborate on Indigenous-led protected areas. The Canadian Press PQ to break with monarchy if elected Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s promise to break with the British monarchy is stirring up a mix of support and skepticism from his rivals on the provincial election campaign trail. St-Pierre Plamondon said on Tuesday that a PQ government would not allocate any money for the lieutenant-governor and redistribute those sums to tackle homelessness. The PQ leader said Quebecers pay up to $15 million per year to uphold the crown, including for the lieutenant-governor’s salary. The Coalition Avenir Québec has also proposed to modify the lieutenant-governor’s role. “What I want is to cut out the waste involved in this and do away with the symbolism, which is one of domination by force,” St-Pierre Plamondon told journalists. Each province has a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister, to represent the Crown in their jurisdiction. Their duties include swearing in deputies at the legislature and providing royal assent to provincial laws. The Canadian Press Elections Quebec receives 160 complaints in 5 days Documents released through access to information legislation reveal Élections Québec received 160 complaints over five days after the agency announced it was sending the unilingual voter guides. In one of the complaints, a person who identified themselves as an English-speaking Quebecer noted how they were part of a minority forced to fight hard to have their rights respected. The Canadian Press Day 35 Here is where the party leaders are planning to start their day, in order of first appearance: Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) QS Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal is set to participate in a walkabout and leafleting activity at the Saint-Henri Metro station at 8:45 a.m. She will then visit the Montreal SPCA at 10:30 a.m. before heading to Westmount Park at 12:30 p.m. to make an announcement and participate in the Every Child Counts march for National Truth and Reconciliation Day. She will attend a screening of Pauline Julien: Femme pays at 5:45 p.m. at the Beaubien Cinema. Meanwhile, QS Spokesperson Sol Zanetti will participate in activities starting at 2 p.m. to mark Truth and Reconciliation Day in Quebec City. Charles Milliard (Quebec Liberal Party) Liberal Leader Charles Milliard is expected to remain in Greater Montreal to make an announcement at 9 a.m. about telehealth at the Laval region’s campaign headquarters. He will then have lunch at Rôtisserie Panama around noon and stop by Pâtisserie Afroditi at 1:15 p.m. At 1:50 p.m., he will take a walk along Jarry Street. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (Parti Québécois) PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is slated to hold a press conference at 9:05 a.m. at Parc des Pionniers in Rouyn-Noranda. He will then hold another press conference at 1:45 p.m. at Place Hauterive in Baie-Comeau before attending a rally at the Musée de la Gaspésie at 4:25 p.m. in Gaspé. Christine Fréchette (Coalition Avenir Québec) CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette is set to meet with residents at 10:05 a.m. at Le Saint Sau Pub Gourmand in Saint-Sauveur. She will then attend a campaign lunch at 11:45 a.m. at the St-Hubert restaurant and bar in Sainte-Adèle. At 2:30 p.m., she will meet with residents at Domaine Lafrance - Les vergers in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac. Éric Duhaime (Quebec Conservative Party) Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime is expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to present the party’s vision for Indigenous nations at the Fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City. He will hold another press briefing at 3:30 p.m. at the Villa des jeunes in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and participate in a campaign event at 5:35 p.m. at the St-Bernard pub and restaurant in Beaupré. The leaders
