Independent Quebec would have its own currency and army, PQ says
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The Parti Québécois plans to release its proposed Year One budget for an independent Quebec on Monday.
Published Oct 18, 2023 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute read
“Quebec will gain in having its own monetary policy focused on our economic imperatives and not those of Alberta and Ontario,” says Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, seen in a file photo. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette files
QUEBEC — An independent Quebec would have its own currency and a peacekeeping-style army, the leader of the Parti Québécois said Wednesday.
With the party planning to release its proposed Year One budget for an independent Quebec on Monday, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon started sketching out to reporters the PQ’s vision for a new country, saying more elements will become clearer in time.
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The issue came up at a news conference where he was discussing the current international political situation. St-Pierre Plamondon answered yes when asked if an independent Quebec would have its own foreign policy, which prompted a question about an army, to which he also said yes.
He said an independent Quebec will want to be a player in NATO, like other smaller countries such as Norway and the Netherlands. In the past, the PQ has favoured a non-aggression peacekeeping-style army with about 8,000 soldiers; St-Pierre Plamondon said the details will be discussed by PQ members at a policy convention.
He had a clear answer on the question of a Quebec dollar, too. Former PQ leaders Jacques Parizeau and Pauline Marois were in favour of retaining the Canadian dollar in the event of independence in order to help stabilize the finances of the new country, but St-Pierre Plamondon, arguing the context has changed, wants to drop that plan.
He said Canada’s economic and monetary policy does not help Quebec’s economy flourish the way it otherwise might, so the new country he envisions would float its own dollar and have its own monetary policy.
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“Ultimately, the theoretical answer, the absolute answer, is Quebec will gain in having its own monetary policy focused on our economic imperatives and not those of Alberta and Ontario,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.
“The budget of a sovereign Quebec will probably interest you on this subject. I invite you to read it when it is published Monday.”
He said an independent Quebec will not try to cut itself off from the North American or Canadian economic context. In fact, he said, an independent Quebec will want the same friendly relations with the rest of Canada that it has as a province.
“We are going to reuse the concept of sovereignty-association a lot,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in reference to the term used by former PQ premier René Lévesque in the 1980 referendum, which the party lost.
St-Pierre Plamondon’s comments mark a shift for him. During last year’s election campaign, he avoided specifics on the independence plan; he said he would wait for the policy convention of the party members, which would be followed by a “blue book” detailing the PQ’s plan.
His remarks on Wednesday sparked plenty of reaction, including one from Premier François Legault. On his way into question period, Legault was asked what he thought of the PQ’s plan for a Year One budget.
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“I am anxious to see what they will do to fill the hole caused by the loss of $13 billion in equalization,” he said.
Finance Minister Eric Girard was equally skeptical.
“I can confirm to you that the federal government spends more in Quebec than it receives in revenues,” Girard told reporters. “From the point of view of public finances, the federation is clearly an advantage for Quebec.
“Quebecers have expressed themselves democratically twice (on this issue) and I think, when there is some polling done by serious firms, we will see that the risk of independence is not major.”
Asked if he fears a reaction to such talk from agencies that decide Quebec’s credit rating, Girard said no.
“There is no rise of the Yes (option), so there is no impact on the credit rating,” he said.
Quebec’s Liberals said most Quebecers have other things on their minds than the PQ’s Year One budget.
“People want us to talk about inflation, the housing crisis, the impact on public services and the state of infrastructures,” said Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji. “I will leave the debate on money and the Year One budget to the PQ. We Liberals are concerned about real issues.”
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The PQ’s proposed budget has been promised multiple times but delayed for all sorts of reasons. Monday’s unveiling will be the first time since 2005 that the party has gone down this path, which in the past has been fraught with peril because its opponents delighted in picking apart the estimates to discredit the option.
Ironically, that 2005 budget was produced by Legault, who at the time was a PQ MNA and finance critic.
Legault examined the impact of independence from all the angles in his 48-page document: spending and revenues, the Quebec and federal debt, transfer payments to the province, taxes, seniors’ pensions, savings related to the end of overlapping jurisdictions and the division of assets.
Legault concluded Quebec, over five years as a country, would be ahead financially by $13.5 billion. St-Pierre Plamondon has said the PQ has drawn inspiration from Legault’s approach to the question for this next exercise.
pauthier@postmedia.com
twitter.com/philipauthier
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