Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
The Quebec Liberals wasted no time in denouncing the Parti Québécois’s proposal to give an independent Quebec its own currency as the sovereigntist party wraps a weekend meeting.
PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters Saturday that an independent Quebec would have its own currency, a transition from the Canadian dollar that could take up to 10 years.
The currency option is the latest chapter from the PQ’s Blue Book, which outlines what an independent Quebec would look like.
Liberal Frédéric Beauchemin urged the PQ to stop “talking nonsense,” noting that separating from Canada would cut Quebec out of its current economic agreements and create economic instability.
Beauchemin says fiscal policy isn’t a fairy tale and the PQ‘s proposal will directly affect the purchasing power of Quebecers.
On Saturday, the PQ leader had predicted that the “federalist camp” would condemn his proposal and that the narrative would be that a Quebec currency would be “dreadful” but added that a fear campaign is unfounded.
St-Pierre Plamondon galvanized several hundred party members gathered at the weekend meeting in Sherbrooke, Que.
“We have the right, but above all, we have the duty to build a different Quebec than the Quebec of decline,” St-Pierre Plamondon said, pinning the blame for that slump on the federal government, the Coalition Avenir Québec, and the Quebec Liberal Party.
Other scenarios
St-Pierre Plamondon said the plan would be for Quebec to have its own monetary policy and its own central bank.
However, the PQ wants to establish an independent commission following a successful sovereignty referendum, which would then make its own recommendations including whether or not to create a Quebec currency.
But St-Pierre Plamondon said he believes a Quebec currency is “by far the most likely scenario.”
The PQ considered two other scenarios: keeping the Canadian dollar or adopting the American currency.
According to the PQ leader, keeping the Canadian dollar would have ensured “stability and continuity.” The problem, he argued, would stem from the fact that an independent Quebec would have no influence on Canada’s monetary policy.
It’s a similar issue with the U.S. dollar.
“In times of crisis, for example, actions will be taken solely based on American interests, and Quebec’s situation will be completely ignored,” he explained.
St-Pierre Plamondon added using the U.S dollar given the current context would not be acceptable in the province.
