Quebec premier wants vast consultation on future of province

SHAWINIGAN, Que. – If you already have reservations about the eight weeks of charter hearings, you won’t like Premier Pauline Marois’ latest idea.

Marois announced that she will hold even broader consultations into sovereignty in her second mandate.

READ MORE: Quebec premier breathes new life into sovereignty movement

She asked that Quebecers give her a majority government so she can eventually get the ball rolling on a third referendum.

“If voters choose a sovereignist government, for sure they accept that I will discuss this issue,” said the premier as she wrapped up her party’s two-day caucus meeting in Shawinigan.

The consultation will likely take more than two to three months but less than two years, said ministers.

“All the limits of the consultation haven’t been decided yet, but you can compare to what’s been done before,” said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Alexandre Cloutier.

The Bélanger-Campeau Commission in 1990 lasted about six months and cost Quebec taxpayers nearly $5 million.

It was followed by another consultation on the future of Quebec in 1995.

Parti Quebecois MNAs said that despite the high costs, launching a new reflection on independence is necessary.

Many believe that a lot has changed in the two decades since the last referendum.

“As an example, there were many promises that Canada would reinvent itself, that there would be constitutional negotiations,” said 22 year-old MNA Léo Bureau-Blouin.

“I think the last few years have clearly demonstrated that this won’t happen.”

He went on to speak about the next generation of Quebecers.

“I think there are also many new people in Quebec, young people that weren’t there in 1995 and that makes a big difference,” he added.

It is no secret that the PQ is trying to woo Quebec youth.

A video posted last week featured young Quebecers enjoying the beauty of the province, painting a rosy picture of a sovereign Quebec.

On Thursday, International Relations Minister Jean-François Lisée argued his party is the only one defending Quebecers’ values and their democratic right to be consulted on major issues.

“Mr. Couillard has said he would sign the Constitution of Canada,” Lisée said.

“He never said that Quebecers would be consulted. He needs to say that before the election.”

The PQ’s proposed white paper would ask which choice poses a higher risk: remaining a Canadian province or becoming an independent country.

For Higher Education Minister Pierre Duchesne, the answer is clear.

“You know the scariest situation is to stay in Canada. There is a risk to remain in this country,” he said.

The stage is set for a spring election and although Marois would prefer forming a majority government, a white paper could still be produced in a minority setting.

Watch: Political reaction as Quebec Premier Pauline Marois breathes new life into sovereignty movement