THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Parti Quebecois is taking on a famous target in the provincial election campaign: the Queen.
   
The pro-independence party's leader has been referencing the monarchy in her speeches and refers to it as a waste of money; an outdated institution; and a sign that Quebec has no place in Stephen Harper's Canada.
   
At a news conference Tuesday, PQ Leader Pauline Marois was asked about that kind of talk and whether it might be impolite during the Queen's Jubilee year.
   
``It doesn't bother me at all to attack royalty,'' she replied to a reporter from a Toronto newspaper.
   
``It's not because it's the... event... what's that... the Jubilee, I was looking for the term,  not because it's the Queen's Jubilee we should avoid commenting.''
   
The PQ, under Marois, has been much more active in appealing to cultural nationalism than it was under some ...

Léo Bureau-Blouin, the former head of the La Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ), shouldn't expect a towncar with a chaffeur if elected as the PQ MNA for Laval-des-Rapides.

PQ leader Pauline Marois laughed today when discussing the possibility of giving the 20-year-old a ministry.

She did, however, say that he would likely have other responsabilities in a PQ government. 

photo: Journal de Montréal

A new election campaign theme song has been released by the Parti Québécois (PQ) and reactions online aren't positive.

"À nous de choisir," or "Our Time to Choose," was composed by Nelson Minville and features an array of Québécois singers: Marie-Élaine Thibert, Ariane Moffatt. Michel Rivard, Daniel Boucher, Yann Perreau, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Geneviève Jodoin, Stéphanie Bédard et Lana Carbonneau.

Comments on the PQ's YouTube channel range from "pathetic" to "horrifying" to "worrisome."

"Ayoye, this is a joke, right?" said one viewer.

"One word," said another. "Quétaine." (cheesey) 

The Liberals are to blame for the weakening of the French language in Montreal, Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Pauline Marois declared in front of Percé Rock this afternoon.

Péquistes are trying to gain a strong Liberal riding in the Gaspé by promising jobs in wind power and other sectors, but it didn't take long for the language debate to come up.

If elected, Marois is promising a new and improved Bill 101, a Quebec constitution and new citizenship initiatives.

A recent report from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) contradicts Marois' stance on French in Montreal.

It found that 97 per cent of businesses downtown served customers in Quebec’s official language; 93 per cent on the West Island.

photo: Canadian Press

A campaign video posted on YouTube by the Parti Québécois is raising some questions about what type of vision the party has for Quebec.

In the two-minute ad, leader Pauline Marois makes an impassioned speech on "what direction Quebec should take," while taking shots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Pierre Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II.

The ad features few, if any visible minorities. Marois' speech is over a militaristic drum beat and at one point in the video, she encourages Quebecers to be "proud of our values," as the image of the cross atop Mt. Royal is shown.

"Despite all these unsettling overtones," writes Jonathan Kay of The National Post, "the video might have been saved if the PQ producers had included one — just one — visual nod to the existence of Quebecers who aren’t from the same demographic stock as Pauline Marois: say, a shot of Montreal’s Chinatown, ...

The Charest Liberals say if they're elected, they will offer tax credits for Quebecers who do "green" renovations to their homes.

Jean Charest says the program will pay 20 percent of expenses, up to $3000.

The credit would apply only on amounts above $1000, so if you do $1500 worth of work, the credit would apply on $500.

The money would be available for only one year and would cost $50 Million.

The renovations would have to be enviromentally beneficial by reducing energy consumption. It would includes work on the insulation, sealing, air conditioning and water consumption.

Photo: plq.org 

The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) will soon join the Liberals and Green Party in appealing to English voters on the web.

CAQ leader Francois Legault confirmed to CJAD News this morning that an English website will be online by the end of the week.

During a debate on the economy yesterday on The Tommy Schnurmacher Show, CAQ candidate Stéphane Le Bouyonnec was asked by Liberal finance minister Raymond Bachand why Anglo content was absent.

"Why doesn't the CAQ have an English website?" Bachand said.

"We don't have the funds of the Liberals, obviously," Le Bouyonnec responded.

CAQ officials say their original website had English content, but a tranfer to an election-ready website required more work, which explains the delay.

A CAQ government would reduce taxes by $1000 for middle-income families by, among other things, cancelling the health tax created by the Charest government.

The $400 health tax would be eliminated over two years, which will be accompanied by another $600 cut.

The cut would affect families whose income is less than $100 000 per year.

During a news conference Tuesday morning, Francois Legault reminded reporters that, if elected, his party would very closely analyze Hydro-Quebec's expenses, school board management and health agencies.

Legault would not say how he planned to finance his tax cut promise.

He says all of the details would come in the CAQ's economic platform, which will be released soon.

Photo: coalitionavenirquebec.org