Legault says he won't participate in the English-only debate, thus it's been cancelled
Key Takeaways:
- In 2018, the leaders of the province's major political parties debated in English for the first time. Legault was one of them before the Coalition Avenir Québec was elected for the first time.
- Legault said he accepted the invitation "with great joy" on social media at the time.
After Premier François Legault and another party leader declined to participate in an English-language discussion ahead of the fall election in Quebec, the debate will be canceled.
"We declined the invitations for 2 debates, one of which is in English," a representative for the premier said Friday.
In an email, Ewan Sauves said, "The premier will already take part in the debates planned by the TVA and Radio-Canada networks." "It's critical to recognize that each discussion necessitates extensive and time-consuming preparation."
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the leader of the Parti Québécois, also stated that he would not attend the event, stating that "the official and common language in Quebec is French."
He stated on Twitter, "Of course, we will be accessible to answer questions from English-speaking journalists."
The heads of the other 3 parties in the legislature, on the other hand, said they would attend.
Dominique Anglade, the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, said in the afternoon that she would take part in the debate. Legault, she claimed, had "turned his back on English-speaking Quebecers."
"We, the Liberals, will always strive to build a government that represents all Quebecers, regardless of their language or where they come from," she added.
Éric Duhaime, the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party, has stated that he will debate in English. Sandrine Bourque, a spokesperson for Québec Solidaire, said the party's premier candidate, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, will attend even if the CAQ and the PQ withdraw.
The leaders of each major political party were invited to a 90-minute debate on Sept. 20 by Montreal's leading English-language broadcast media companies, only days before Quebecers go to the polls on Oct. 3.
The event was supposed to be live-streamed on CBC, CTV, Global, and CJAD, the English media debate consortium's four organizations.
According to the consortium, the consortium's purpose was to let "all Quebecers hear the party leaders speak, debate, and challenge their vision and priorities for Quebec, to assist all voters in making an informed choice."
"The English-language media consortium members agree that it would not be a fair and informative exercise without the participation of all of the major party leaders," the consortium stated in a statement released Friday.
"As a result, no English-language party leaders debate will occur during this election campaign."
In 2018, the leaders of the province's major political parties debated in English for the first time. Legault was one of them before the Coalition Avenir Québec was elected for the first time.
Legault said he accepted the invitation "with great joy" on social media.