QUEBEC – Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will not be participating in the Canada-European Union summit taking place in Montreal Thursday and Friday.
After two days spent in a war of words with the federal government, which he accused of failing to respect Quebec by not allowing him to speak at the event, St-Pierre Plamondon confirmed he would not be present.
He did so via a letter written to European leaders and released to the media late Wednesday.
He will, however, be sending his newly named chief government negotiator, Pascal Paradis, to “represent me and open the channels of communications” with European leaders who have started arriving in Montreal.
A lawyer with a master’s degree in international law, Paradis was the defeated Parti Québécois MNA for the Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon before getting the job of Quebec negotiator.
“You can rest assured that the interest of the Quebec nation will continue to be adequately represented given your and our histories that unite us,” St-Pierre Plamondon writes.
In the letter, he takes another few swipes at Ottawa, which he has accused of trying to muzzle him by not giving him speaking rights at the summit.
“We have concluded that in the framework of the summit, the federal government decided to exclude Quebec from discussions that are to be held,” St-Pierre Plamondon says.
He adds the Quebec government has “neither a chair at the negotiating table nor an occasion to speak to present the general orientations of the Quebec state to our European partners, given the accords that will follow (the summit).
“This is the case even though the summit is taking place on Quebec soil.”
He goes further, saying Quebec’s absence creates uncertainty when it comes to the application of agreements that might be negotiated at the summit.
“Not only has Quebec not been made aware of what Canada wants to discuss, but the federal government seems to be holding back core information about this negotiation out of fear it is not consistent with the democratic will of Quebecers.
“Negotiating important agreements without the participation or consent of Quebec will result in a certain level of risk and foreseeable pitfalls if our jurisdictions and our roles as hosts are not respected.”
He nevertheless says he would like to meet the European leaders in the near future to deepen ties.
The letter follows a roller-coaster two days of St-Pierre Plamondon and Prime Minister Mark Carney exchanging barbs from their respective parliaments.
Arriving for a meeting of the Quebec cabinet Wednesday morning, St-Pierre Plamondon gave Carney one last chance: He called on the prime minister to recognize an “error” was made and reverse the decision to not let him speak at the summit.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters.
“I always indicated I wanted a productive relationship with Ottawa, but I also indicated I wanted a relationship of respect. It is not respectful to not give a place to the premier of Quebec at an event in Quebec, where Quebec’s economic interests are being negotiated.”
St-Pierre Plamondon argued his position that Quebec should be on stage beside Canada comes as no surprise.
“I am very predictable,” he said. “I will always defend the interests of Quebec. What I am defending is the Gérin-Lajoie doctrine that has existed for 60 years — that is to say, a Quebec that takes its place internationally and watches over its interests.”
Established by Quebec minister Paul Gérin-Lajoie in 1965, the doctrine stipulates that Quebec can speak for itself internationally in areas of provincial jurisdiction such as education and culture.
At the morning encounter with the media, St-Pierre Plamondon did not answer when asked whether he might attend the summit.
Ottawa had proposed he attend a dinner with dignitaries, but not deliver public remarks. He was also invited to be part of the reception at Trudeau airport to greet dignitaries.
“What I am asking this morning, the most logical solution, is that Ottawa correct this error,” he said.
“It’s a right to speak, where we say welcome to our European invitees,” he added. “I am the premier of Quebec. We are in Quebec.
“But it is above all the right to participate. (Former premier) Jean Charest set an important precedent — that is to say that when Quebec’s interests are being negotiated and it has a lot of impact on us, Quebec gets a chair and participates in the negotiations.”
Noting the province’s trade balance with Europe is in the negative, he said it is “vital that Quebec be at the table to say what can we do to correct this and represent Quebec’s interests well.”
But there was no indication Ottawa was going to cave in. On Tuesday, Carney said Quebec had been consulted three times in the lead-up to the bilateral federal summit with the leaders of the EU.
“He was invited to the dinner; he refused,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa.
“It was his decision to leave the chair empty — again.”
The “again” was a reference to St-Pierre Plamondon’s absence Monday from a meeting between Canada’s premiers, Carney and First Nations leaders.
St-Pierre Plamondon responded with a blast on his Facebook page, saying he had no intention of taking a secondary role at a summit held in Quebec.
“The federal government would like us to believe that the fact the premier of Quebec obtains the permission to serve the shrimp cocktails at a reception constitutes an acceptable and sufficient level of influence in the representation of Quebec’s interests,” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote on Tuesday.
In the same post, he cranked up the drama. He drew a parallel between the summit decision and the cult film Le temps des bouffons — made by Pierre Falardeau in 1985 and released in 1993 — which highlights with derision that Quebecers were once treated as water carriers on their own territory and under the control of financial elites.
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Shortly after St-Pierre Plamondon spoke Wednesday morning, Carney also asked the premier to reconsider his decision, repeating his offers of a presence at the reception of dignitaries at the airport and at the dinner.
“My office suggested to Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon that he have the honour of welcoming the president (of the EU) to Montreal, to Quebec, Canada,” Carney said. “This offer stands.
“Secondly, I myself, I invited him to dinner, at my table (the head table). In my view this is a good occasion, a useful occasion, to have conversations and establish relations with the president of the European Union.
“And for us too, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon and me, to have a chance to reinforce our relations. I hope he will reconsider.”
The head table of the summit will also include the president of the European Council, António Costa, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.