On March 28, 2019, I was with Andrew Scheer in Quebec City for a speech before the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Quebec (CCIQ).
By chance, it was the same day as the tabling of Bill 21 by Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette.
As chief of staff, I knew that the file of secularism was going to be a sensitive issue in the caucus. The Quebec MPs demanded that the government not intervene in the courts, while a good number of MPs outside Quebec wanted the party to commit to challenging the future law in the courts.
The position
As soon as we arrived at the Hôtel Plaza Québec, I took time with Mr. Scheer to revise his speech, but especially to discuss our game plan in relation to Bill 21.
Fortunately, we were able to read the broad outlines of the bill before Mr. Scheer spoke to the members of the CCIQ. With my colleagues who had remained at the office in Ottawa, we finalized the lines while Mr. Scheer gave his speech.
We had time to consult a few deputies to be certain that we were not going to get our feet wet.
Our position can be summed up as follows: we are not going to table such a bill at the federal level, we are going to respect the decisions of the National Assembly and we are not going to intervene before the courts.
After his speech, in a scrum, Mr. Scheer answered questions from the media and delivered our message on Bill 21 in both languages.
Election campaign
On the first day of the electoral campaign in 2019, we knew that questions regarding secularism were going to come back. On the way to Trois-Rivières for our first campaign event, I revalidated messages with Mr. Scheer on Bill 21.
We keep our position. Throughout the campaign, we never had as many problems in Quebec as in the other provinces.
In 2021, Erin O’Toole had the same position as Andrew Scheer. A position that was welcomed by the Premier of Quebec, François Legault.
After the last election campaign, Conservative MPs, mostly from the West, lobbied for Erin O’Toole to change his stance on Bill 21. They wanted the Conservative leader to ask the federal government to immediately request the intervenor status in the case of Bill 21.
At that time, Quebec MPs clearly expressed their disagreement and even mentioned that they might lose their seats if the party changed its position.
Chiefdom 2022
From the first moments of his campaign for the leadership of the CPC on Thursday, Jean Charest made it clear that he was once morest Bill 21 and that “if the case goes to the Supreme Court, the federal government will speak out. »
Mr. Charest’s position is directly in line with his political commitment. However, this is contrary to the traditional position of the CPC, and therefore that of the Quebec caucus.
Right now, a number of Conservative MPs outside Quebec must be asking themselves questions. How is it possible that our Quebec colleagues support a candidate with such a position on Bill 21? Were they really serious when they said that we should not change our position?
There remains one variable to know. How will Pierre Poilievre position himself on this issue? He might become the defender of the position of the Quebec caucus.
Over the next few months, it is not just the party’s position on Bill 21 that is at stake, but the influence of Quebec MPs within the national caucus.
