Bernard Drainville defends his candidacy for the CAQ in Lévis
Bernard Drainville and François Legault.
Bernard Drainville, former MP and PQ minister, was confirmed as the CAQ candidate in the riding of Lévis on Tuesday morning. During a press conference, he defended this passage from one party to another. This return to politics, the former journalist does “out of love for Quebec”, he named in a press conference.
I am a proud Quebecer and I want to do my part for Quebec. Is there a problem with that?
Bernard Drainville
The news was expected, since François Paradis, current CAQ member of this constituency, had announced his retirement from politics. Last Friday, June 3, journalist Paul Arcand announced on the air the return to politics of Mr. Drainville with the Coalition Avenir Québec.
Bernard Drainville was MP for Marie-Victorin for the Parti Québécois, a sovereignist party. He was then appointed Quebec minister responsible for democratic institutions and citizen participation under Pauline Marois. Questioned on several occasions in relation to his independence past, Mr. Drainville has repeatedly insisted on not wanting to lead the fight for independence.
“Quebecers have no appetite for this debate,” he said. Not going so far as to deny his separatist ideologies, he nevertheless claims to have noticed that the “sovereignism-independenceism” debate no longer interested Quebecers. He also said that he himself did not “feel like fighting this battle” by returning to politics.
It's hard to resist the call of politics when the Prime Minister calls asking to join his ranks, he explains.
Nationalism and false debate
“Nationalism” was the watchword at this press conference. The new candidate in Lévis praised the nationalism of the CAQ, which he described as “generous”, “promoting social progress”, and “open to the world”.
It was therefore the nationalism of the ruling party that brought him back into politics. He called the duality between independence parties and federalist parties a “false debate” and an “old party line” put forward by “old parties”. He points out that he noticed as early as 2014 that the figures showed that the enthusiasm of Quebecers for the independence debate “was not there”.
In his view, a “third voice” must be explored. when the time comes to address the national debate in relation to the identity and “autonomy” of the Quebec people: that of nationalism. He underlined in passing the importance of going “to seek more power in Ottawa”.
There are battles to be fought inside Canada
Bernard Drainville
