‘Reduced to the role of spectator’: Quebec premier blasts treatment ahead of EU summit

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has rejected Prime Minister Mark Carney’s offer to sit at the head table at the Canada-European Union summit in Montreal, saying he will not accept being reduced to a “spectator” without the right to speak or negotiate on Quebec’s behalf.

In a statement Wednesday evening, St-Pierre Plamondon said he had taken note of Carney’s offer but argued it would amount to Quebec “falling into line” and being marginalized on the international stage.

“As premier, I will always refuse to see Quebec reduced to the role of spectator when it comes to representing and protecting the economic and political interests of Quebecers,” he wrote.

The premier did not explicitly say whether he would attend the summit, which will be held in Montreal on Thursday and Friday. Instead, he said he had written to EU representatives and would send Quebec’s chief diplomat, Pascal Paradis, to open channels for future discussions.

St-Pierre Plamondon said he had invited EU representatives to hold a bilateral discussion “in a better context” that would allow Quebec to participate rather than be excluded.

Quebec Liberal Party Leader Charles Milliard criticized the premier’s decision, saying a letter to European representatives is not a substitute for being at the summit.

“A letter does not replace a presence at the table,” Milliard said in a statement. “The prime minister says he wants to meet with European leaders, but refuses to take part in the Canada-EU summit being held on our soil.”

Milliard accused St-Pierre Plamondon of passing up an opportunity to defend Quebec’s interests.

“Diplomacy requires building relationships and seizing opportunities to defend our interests. Not sulking because we don’t have a microphone,” he said.

“Our partners will be at the table. The premier of Quebec, for his part, will leave his chair empty.”

Milliard added: “I’ll say it again: being absent means being the loser. What a lack of leadership.”

The summit, which aims to strengthen the political partnership between Canada and the EU, will be held in Montreal on Thursday and Friday.

Carney reiterated Wednesday that St-Pierre Plamondon had been invited to dinner at the head table alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

But the premier has demanded an official opportunity to speak.

Earlier Wednesday, he called on Ottawa to reverse its decision while remaining vague about whether he would attend the summit.

On Tuesday, the PQ premier at the international meeting.

Carney said the premier had been invited to the dinner but that St-Pierre Plamondon had decided to leave “an empty chair.”

“It’s a good opportunity to have serious conversations and establish relationships with the president of the European Union. I hope he will reconsider,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa Wednesday morning.

St-Pierre Plamondon said it was “disrespectful” not to give the Quebec premier a voice at an event taking place in the province where Quebec’s economic interests are being negotiated. “It’s never too late to do the right thing,” he said in Quebec City.

He cited the Gérin-Lajoie doctrine, a Quebec policy that states the province can defend its own areas of jurisdiction and interests on the international stage.

In his statement Wednesday evening, St-Pierre Plamondon said the dispute reflected what he described as a federal strategy to marginalize Quebec internationally and subordinate areas of provincial jurisdiction to Ottawa.

He also pointed to support for his position from other party leaders in the National Assembly, as well as the federal Official Opposition and Bloc Québécois.

Ruba Ghazal, spokesperson for Québec solidaire, called on all party leaders to demand that Carney allow St-Pierre Plamondon to take the floor at the summit.

St-Pierre Plamondon said he had written directly to EU representatives to argue that agreements involving Europe and Quebec must go through the Quebec government, particularly when a summit is being held in the province. He also raised Ottawa’s refusal to give him an opportunity to speak.

He said Paradis would be sent to establish channels for future discussions with European representatives.

–with files from The Canadian Press