The two former cabinet ministers vying for the leadership of the Coalition Avenir Québec, Bernard Drainville and Christine Fréchette, locked horns on Saturday, in their final debate before party members can cast their ballots on April 7.

CBC News reported that the two got into a heated debate around the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), an immigration pathway for skilled workers, which was scrapped last year and replaced with a different program. Drainville’s proposal would grant an exemption for those already in the province when the change happened, allowing 18,000 applicants in certain industries to stay. Fréchette said she would grant an exemption to 45,000 applicants under the old program.

The winner of the race will be announced on Apr. 12, and will replace outgoing Premier François Legault until the provincial elections scheduled for this fall.

Community orgs begin strike action

Last Monday, dozens of Outaouais community organizations took to the streets of Gatineau to call on the government to increase their funding, Le Droit reports.

Calling their movement “Le communautaire à boutte”, the protest kicked off in the Mauricie region last fall, and quickly spread throughout Quebec. The protest was part of a two-week long strike action that will conclude on Apr. 2 with a demonstration in Quebec City.

The group, which represents community groups like food banks or social service non-profits, is asking for the government to increase their funding by $57 million, which they say will allow them to keep providing programming and pay their employees while keeping up with inflation.

Former CAQ forestry minister joins Quebec Conservatives

Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who up until late last year was the CAQ Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, announced last week that she would be joining Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party of Quebec, Radio-Canada reported. The move gives the party a seat in the National Assembly, and Blanchette Vézina has announced that she will seek re-election this fall under the Conservative banner in the riding of La Peltrie, near Quebec City. She currently represents Rimouski.

After being booted from cabinet by Premier Legault in September, Blanchette Vézina left the party to sit as an independent, blasting her former boss for neglecting the province’s rural regions and calling on him to resign on her way out.

She appeared at the CPQ’s convention in January and has made several appearances with Duhaime.

In the 2022 election, the Quebec Conservatives received marginally less overall votes than the Liberals (12.91 per cent to 14.37 per cent), but due to the first-past-the-post electoral system, received zero seats to the Liberals’ 31.

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