Une municipalité de l’Outaouais dénonce l’absence d’un débat des chefs en anglais

Unhappy with the absence of an English-language leaders’ debate ahead of the upcoming provincial election, elected officials in the Township of Low, located in the Gatineau Valley, are criticizing the stance taken by the major political parties.

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The elected officials in Low are calling on the five parties to “commit unconditionally to fully participating in future English-language debates” or, failing that, “to organize equivalent and accessible forums in English during the election campaign.”

“We are being forgotten”

According to Sylvia Martin-Laforge, Director General of TALQ, the leaders’ debate is an essential opportunity for voters to compare the different political parties. “Debates or panels with the leaders are one of the only times when they have to answer the same questions at the same time. That’s when we get to hear them,” explains Martin-Laforge, whose mother tongue is English.

According to her, holding a debate in English would allow Quebec’s approximately 1.3 million English-speaking residents to fully understand the nuances of the issues and feel represented. The Director General believes that the concerns of English-speaking Quebecers are rarely addressed in French-language debates.