Quebec politicians are condemning the “fear tactics” allegedly being used by the City of Toronto in the race to secure the headquarters of the future Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank.
According to La Presse, developers have reportedly brandished the separatist threat to undermine Montreal’s bid.
“They’ve been doing this for a while now. But when you resort to scare tactics, it’s because you don’t have much to show for yourself,” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada told the daily.
Related:
Questioned in the National Assembly, Quebec’s Minister of International Relations, Christopher Skeete, denounced the situation.
“It’s clear that Toronto always wins when Quebec is divided. We, on the other hand, will highlight Quebec’s major strengths in this matter,” he stated during a press scrum.
Premier Christine Fréchette was careful not to add fuel to the fire. “I’m not getting involved in that. We have everything we need to take a stand,” she commented briefly.
Earlier that morning, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) House Leader, Marc Tanguay, had stated that it was not inaccurate to say that a potential referendum leads to economic instability.
He urged Toronto, however, to stop using such “tactics,” which “have no place here.” “Don’t go there, don’t go there. Quebec isn’t going to secede, because Charles Milliard’s Liberal Party is here,” he said.
Québec solidaire (QS) co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti also denounced “fear-mongering.”
“Montreal is a major city that is already home to many high-level international organizations. (…) Montreal has everything it needs to host any organization and has nothing to envy Toronto,” he argued.
According to Pascal Paradis of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Toronto is using “false arguments.” “People in Toronto are building a campaign based on fear-mongering about hypothetical instability that has not been proven,” he argued.
Furthermore, Paradis said that, in his view, a Defence Bank in Montreal would be subject to Bill 101.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
