The PQ is protesting the appointment of singer Émile Bilodeau as the evening’s moderator for ridiculing the party and expressing his vehement opposition to Law 21 on state secularism.
In a message obtained by The Canadian Press, PQ spokeswoman Méganne Perry Mélançon harshly criticized the Mouvement national des Québécois (MNQ), which is responsible for organizing the national day show, for lack of judgment, violating the fundamental principles that they have set forth themselves, that is, to be non-partisan.
Méganne Perry Mélançon, spokeswoman for the PQ and former MEP for Gaspé (file photo)
Photo: Radio Canada / Ivanoh Demers
The singer-songwriter has expressed his support for Québec Solidaire (QS) on numerous occasions, and the left-wing party has welcomed his appointment elsewhere.
The PQ has often been invited to speak at the Saint-Jean show, that great moment of nationalist and sovereignist passion, but this time it won’t.
Ms. Perry Mélançon, former PQ member for Gaspé, points out that she initially accepted the invitation but then changed her mind because she was not comfortable doing so.
Nonetheless, the MNQ believes that Émile Bilodeau’s election is unifying and non-partisan. The organization downplayed the controversy that followed his appointment, describing it as a crisis in a glass of water in an internal memo obtained by The Canadian Press.
But Méganne Perry Mélançon feels that this election, to use her words, is anything but unifying.
If you want to bring people together, the first thing to do is show respect to others! She writes.
“On a number of occasions in recent years, and particularly in recent months, Émile Bilodeau has disrespected the Parti Québécois, its staff, its leader, its members and its activists. He has also shown very little respect for anyone who advocates state secularism. »
– A quote from Méganne Perry Mélançon
However, she acknowledges that the MNQ has the right to make that decision and that the artist is free to say and think what they want.
I am therefore in no way asking for the withdrawal of Émile Bilodeau from the stage, from his role as moderator, nor am I asking for the withdrawal of anyone. He has 100% the right to be on stage and I wish him a very Happy National Day by the way. This is a political decision that is entirely up to the organizers.
She sharply attacks the MNQ, which she says is completely at odds with her goal of creating a bipartisan party.
[Le MNQ] However, you should be aware of the bipartisan and sometimes scornful gestures and remarks made by Émile Bilodeau in support of another political formation to which he is said to belong. His appointment as host is, at first glance, in stark contrast to the official message and the MNQ’s goals of unity and impartiality. She says.
Critics of the PQ
Émile Bilodeau had ridiculed PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in his crusade to abolish the oath taken by elected members of the National Assembly to the King of England.
He then described the three PQ MPs as whiners twiddling their thumbs while my friend Sol Zanetti, MP for QS, had introduced a bill to remove the obligation to take the oath to the crown. In fact, the draft law of the Minister for Democratic Institutions, Jean-François Roberge, was adopted.
In a tweet, Émile Bilodeau also said that the PQ must die for there to be a sovereign opposition.
In the parliamentary elections last autumn, the singer campaigned alongside QS co-speaker Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois in Verdun.
Québec Solidaire co-spokesman Gabriel Dubois-Nadeau with singer Émile Bilodeau, in the fall of 2022 (file photo)
Photo: Radio Canada / Dany Pilote
Earlier this year, he called for a QS vote in the Marie-Victorin by-election.
In addition, the artist had described the law on the secularization of the state as misogynist, Islamophobic and demeaning. During the 2020 National Day show, he wore a button denouncing the Secularism Act.
Émile will not be there to announce that he is breaking this law, MNQ communications and marketing manager Sophie Lemelin assured in a recent interview. It’s not Émile’s job to do politics here.
The national holiday has always been depoliticized in the noble sense of the word, she said.
Instead of feeling like I’m being listened to, I feel more of an attitude of rejection from the organizers that doesn’t make me feel welcome, concluded Ms. Perry Mélançon.