QUEBEC – The Canadian flag didn’t spend long in the closet.
The Maple Leaf made its return to the ornate Red Room of the Quebec legislature today, less than 24 hours after it was pulled out as members of the pro-independence Parti Quebecois took the oath of office.
The red and white flag is back for the swearing-in of Quebec’s other main parties: Francois Legault’s Coalition and, later in the day, the Opposition Liberals.
Whether it remains there, in the long run, is another issue.
The flag has been a political yo-yo over the years, bouncing in and out of the chamber depending on the party in power. It has never been present the previous times that the PQ has governed – although, this time, the party has only a minority.
The Maple Leaf has never been present in the legislative chamber but, since 1985, depending on the government of the day, it has stood next to the Quebec flag in the room used for ceremonial events and committee meetings.
The Maple Leaf was restored Tuesday morning and was placed next to the Fleur-de-lis as members of the Coalition party were sworn in.
That party is led by a former PQ cabinet minister who now wants to avoid a debate on national unity. Legault’s party includes both federalists and sovereigntists who believe it’s time to move on to issues beside the independence discussion.
Legault cast his decision to leave the flag there as a practical matter Tuesday.
“I think it’s not a priority for Quebecers,” Legault said. “I think that right now, the last thing people would like to see at the national assembly is a battle over flags.”
Legault said he wants to bring Quebecers together and having a battle over flags isn’t the way to go.
He said it’s his understanding that to permanently remove the flag there would have to be a motion tabled in the national assembly or the government would have to propose a change – but it would have to be accepted by the majority.
“We should keep it the way it is right now,” Legault said.
The Maple Leaf will also remain in place for the swearing-in of 50 members of the Quebec Liberal Party this afternoon.
The red-and-white flag was restored nine years ago when Jean Charest’s Liberals took office and it was placed next to the Quebec flag at the Speaker’s chair in the Red Room, which used to house the now-disbanded upper legislative chamber.
Federal politicians avoided getting wrapped into a provincial flag debate.
NDP members either described the event as non-news or simply said the decision belonged to the province’s lawmakers. The Conservatives stuck to their standard line that Quebecers would prefer to focus on economic issues, not old disputes.
One Liberal MP, Francis Scarpaleggia, whose riding is in the highly federalist west end of Montreal, said he had already received a constituent’s complaint. While he called the flag removal unfortunate, he said there wasn’t much he could do about it.
The flag issue also made a bit of a flap in social media – where many expressed outrage over the removal while many others wondered what all the fuss was about.
While the Canadian flag was gone, for the PQ yesterday, there was still no escaping the Queen.
Every member of the PQ caucus swore an oath to the monarch, which is a prerequisite for taking office in Canada. This after the party had complained during the campaign about the increased presence of the Crown under the Harper Conservatives.
The PQ was elected two weeks ago with a minority mandate. It now holds a four-seat advantage in the legislature after winning the popular vote by less than one percentage point.
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