The parliamentary session in Quebec City will finally take place on Dec. 1, a spokesperson for the new Parti Québécois government confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
The opposition parties were calling for the start of the session as soon as possible; the official start date originally scheduled by the National Assembly was Nov. 17, another date had subsequently been circulated, namely Nov. 24.
But finally, the government decided: it will be even a week later, which will leave little time for the House to sit before Christmas, but more time for the ministers, most of whom are novices, to prepare.
The House will only sit for two weeks, since the work will end on Dec. 11.
Asked to justify this late start to parliamentary work, the head of media relations argued that the session would resume “within the usual timeframe” after a general election.
Previously, the new Marois government took 56 days before making its debut in the House, the Legault government 57 days, and in the case of the new PQ government, it will also be 57 days.
Another justification is that the government is losing “a week of preparation” before the start of the school year because of the Francophonie Summit, in which Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is participating from Nov. 14-16 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
It is also argued that preparations are needed for the economic and budgetary update that will be presented by the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Marceau.
“We want to do things right, we are exactly on schedule,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier on Wednesday, even before this announcement, the official Liberal opposition had already deplored the late start of the proceedings and had demanded that the House be called.
“The new government wants to prepare for its return to work, fine, but with the number of issues that require urgent intervention, any further delay would be unthinkable,” said opposition parliamentary leader André Fortin.
Another obstacle that complicates matters: the PQ government wants the opening of proceedings to take place without the presence of the lieutenant-governor, Manon Jeannotte, who in the eyes of the PQ is a British colonial symbol that must be gotten rid of.
But the Assembly’s rules stipulate that she must deliver a speech at the opening of the session, and these rules can only be changed with the agreement of all elected members — when the House is sitting.
“The Parti Québécois forms the government; it therefore has the responsibility to make our Assembly function,” argued Fortin.
“The Lieutenant Governor must deliver an address to open the parliamentary session. The principle is unequivocal. Any adaptation must therefore respect the applicable rules of the National Assembly and allow proceedings to begin on the scheduled date.”
The participation, or not, of the lieutenant-governor in the opening of the work of a new Parliament is a “legitimate debate,” he concluded, and the PLQ is open to discussing it, but only once the work has begun.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
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