Finance Minister Eric Girard celebrated on Twitter today, for what he proclaimed to be a milestone in Quebec’s credit rating.
According to Girard, the DBRS Morningstar global credit rating agency officially upgraded Quebec’s rating from A (high), where it has remained since 2006, to AA (low), thus raising La Belle Province’s economic outlook from stable to positive.
Quebec politician says that you should be able to commit suicide if you're worried about climate change
Quebec politician Luc Ferrandez has suggested that euthanasia could be extended to those who wish not to be a burden on society.
Writing in a Facebook post, the former mayor of Plateau Mont-Royal said, “Could we, for environmental, social and economic reasons, decide that we want to receive help to die so as not to be a burden for our family and society in general?”
When confronted about his comments, Ferrandez stated that he merely intended to “deepen the discussion” on assisted dying, according to Journal Metro. “Is it immoral to ask a question,” he added indignantly.
Currently, for assisted dying to be permitted, a patient must be suffering, and their death must be imminent. Ferrandez appeared upset as the law does not consider the possibility that a patient may want to die for environmental or economic reasons.
In 2016, several advocates requested that the government expanded euthanasia legislation so to fit Ferrandez’s definition, however, the provincial government is not ready to rethink the legislation in the immediate future
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QC Liberal Party booted out of Quebec, remains only in Montreal
Quebec’s Liberal Party has suffered another loss in a byelection in the riding of Jean-Talon, just outside of Quebec City. As a result of this, the Liberals now represent only two ridings outside of Montreal.
The Liberals were dealt this staggering blow by the surging CAQ, suffering a negative swing of 7.6 percent. The CAQ, on the other hand, was rewarded with a positive swing of 14.8 percent—a testament to the continued popularity of the CAQ’s policies in La Belle Province.
The two separatist parties, the radical Quebec Solidare, and the Parti Quebecois also lost votes, coming as a relief to Quebec’s federalists who have watched the rise of separatism in the province with growing concern.
The incoming MNA for the riding is the CAQ’s Joëlle Boutin, replacing the Liberal Sébastien Proulx. The riding of Jean-Talon has been represented by the Liberals since 1952, making the CAQ’s victory significant.
Quebec’s Liberal party is now down to 28 seats, a significant decrease in their margins since 2014 when they won 70 seats. The other two Liberal seats are located in Outaouais, a traditional Liberal stronghold.
The CAQ stormed to office in 2018, focusing on fiscal responsibility, Quebec nationalism, and the contentious secularism bill. Despite the tut-tutting from English Canada, the CAQ continues to enjoy vast popularity in New France.
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Anti-Semitic depictions carved onto cars in Montreal, Quebec
Anti-Semitic depictions have been carved into the snow on several cars in the Plateau area of Montreal, Quebec. This incident took place on rue Jeanne Mance.
Photos of the markings appeared on Twitter, showing four cars that had the Nazi swastika marked onto the windshield and roofs of the cars alongside the Jewish Star of David.
Montreal has a thriving Jewish community with a recent census showing over 90,000 members of the community living in Quebec’s largest city. The Plateau area, in particular, was where the Jewish community first settled in the early 20th century.
Statistics by the Jewish advocacy group, B’nai Brith, have shown that anti-Semitism has been on the rise across Canada. In 2018, there were a reported 2,041 incidents of Anti-Semitism, which is a 16.5 percent increase from the previous year. Of these, 11 were deemed to have been violent.
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HYPOCRITE: Parti Quebecois leader calls Alberta Premier an incompetent liar
The leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pascal Berube, has attacked Jason Kenney and his UCP in an opinion piece in the Calgary Herald.
In the article, Berube declared that Kenney was lying to Albertans about Albertan taxes paying for Quebec’s social infrastructure. Berube claimed that Kenney’s statements were “simply not true.”
Berube also took time to rebut Kenney’s indignation over equalization payments—an issue that Kenney will put to a referendum. Berube said that equalization payments were calculated based on the province’s ability to generate tax revenue, and thus “Albertans should not complain about paying for any of Quebec’s social programs. It simply is not true.”
Berube went on to say that “Alberta is a bigger spender than its leaders would like you to believe … Alberta is not some libertarian’s dream, as some would like you to believe. The province is a perfect example of ‘big government.’”
By saying this, Berube has labeled Kenney and the UCP as hypocritical and manipulative.
What was more piercing, however, was when Berube attacked Kenney directly, suggesting that Kenney was “looking for someone or something to blame for his gigantic fiscal deficit.”
Berube went on to say that “Albertans need to realize that their leaders have let them down … he will seal his place as the proud heir of past leaders who drove Alberta to the brink of the fiscal precipice where it now finds itself.”
Berube’s attack is the latest incident in a war of words between the two provinces. Previously, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and CAQ leader Francois Legault had criticized Kenney and the Wexit movement. Blanchet, for example, has also disputed Kenney’s equalization claims, declaring that Alberta doesn’t “send a cheque to Quebec.”
Blanchet has also ridiculed the broad sentiment of alienation in the western province, stating that “the desire to do whatever they want with their oil might not be a sufficient reason to fuel a desire to become a country.”
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