The embattled CAQ castigates Trudeau during his political conference

Tension rose again between Quebec and Ottawa on Saturday, at the political conference of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in Saint-Hyacinthe.

The Quebec Minister of Immigration and Canadian Relations, Jean-François Roberge, criticized the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, for washing his dirty laundry in public.

Thursday evening, while in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Trudeau accused the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, of spreading falsehoods on the immigration issue.

Mr. Trudeau said he noticed that Mr. Legault wanted to “politicize” the issue of immigration “at all costs.” According to Mr. Roberge, the Prime Minister of Canada did not behave with dignity.

I think Mr. Trudeau escaped, as they say. It’s not smart to argue in front of a visitor

Mr. Roberge used the term skid to describe the action of the Prime Minister of Canada.

Conversely, François Legault showed the stature of a statesmanaccording to him, by not doing no reproaches in the presence of Mr. Macron. The same cannot be said of Mr. Trudeauhe added.

Last week, Mr. Legault asked the Bloc Québécois to vote with the Conservatives to overthrow the Trudeau government, under the pretext that Ottawa is not doing enough to reduce immigration.

His exit was seen as support for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

He was offended that 588,000 temporary immigrants put pressure on public services in Quebec. Nothing moves on the federal side, he insisted at a press briefing at the National Assembly on Thursday morning.

Mr. Trudeau later responded that, on the contrary, several actions had been taken by his government in recent months to reduce temporary immigration to the country.

Still no plan

He mentioned reimposing visas for Mexican travelers and adding criteria for admitting temporary workers in an effort to reduce their numbers.

The federal Prime Minister criticized Mr. Legault for still not having provided Ottawa with a plan to reduce temporary immigration based on the province’s own immigration powers.

He emphasized that he had requested such a roadmap last June, after a meeting with the Prime Minister of Quebec.

I don’t intend to dwell too long on my petty differences with Justin, but (his) government has completely lost control.

According to Quebec Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, They (the federal liberals) haven’t understood anything for a while, and it’s not because we don’t explain it to them.

Nearly 60 schools of 24 classes each have been opened to promote francization. I lack schools, I lack teachershe lamented, Saturday morning..

Not a boycott

No minister from the Legault government showed up at the dinner in honor of Mr. Macron which was held in Montreal on Thursday evening, 98.5 FM and Radio-Canada reported on Friday.

It was not a boycott, maintained Mr. Roberge in the press scrum on Saturday. He explained that he received the invitation only a few hours before dinner. I already had an evening with my familyhe defended himself.

Ministers Christine Fréchette (Economy) and Mathieu Lacombe (Culture) also justified their absence by claiming to have been invited at the last minute.

For his part, Mr. Legault had warned that he would not be at dinner, according to his office. MM. Legault and Trudeau will soon fly to Paris, where they will participate together in the Francophonie Summit.

Strained relationships

On Saturday, other CAQ ministers paraded in front of journalists to denounce the decisions of the Trudeau government in their respective files.

A stupid dinnerlaunched the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, regarding the decree of his federal counterpart, Steven Guilbeault, aimed at protecting the woodland caribou. We’re feeling a bit cold these days.

The Minister responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger, deplored the refusal she received from the federal government in the case of advance requests for medical assistance in dying.

It’s tense, it’s tense, she said. We communicate, but there is no follow-up.

Ministers Christopher Skeete (delegate for the Economy) and Ian Lafrenière (Relations with First Nations and Inuit) assured for their part that they had good relations with their federal counterparts.

The CAQ collapsing

Saturday’s conference was an opportunity for members of the CAQ to discuss immigration, public services, economic projects and innovation, in particular.

It comes at a time when the Legault government is experiencing a particularly difficult start to the session.

At the rural level, I tell you, the CAQ is collapsing, said activist Sylvain Duval, from Portneuf, into the microphone. It’s not going well.

Looks like you’re laying all your eggs in big business. (…) There, Northvolt is crashing. We should finish the jobs we have to do. The 55 in Trois-Rivières, it’s not over yethe continued.

The moderator, CAQ MP Stéphanie Lachance, quickly ended Mr. Duval’s intervention.