While in Quebec, there is talk of the possibility of calling for the intervention of the Sûrete du Quebec (SQ) to put an end to the demonstrations that block railway tracks, in Ottawa, the Trudeau government continues to advise patience.
When he arrived at his caucus meeting Wednesday morning, Justin Trudeau did not want to respond to the declarations of Francois Legault who, among other things, asked the federal government for a precise timetable.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s tone had however taken on a few nuances compared to the previous day.
“People are facing shortages. People face layoffs. It is unacceptable, “he offered to reporters’ microphones, refusing to comment on the possible use of the SQ mentioned in Quebec.
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“We will continue to work with everyone to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” he said again.
Arriving before him at the weekly meeting, his ministers assured that their government has “a plan” and that it is working on it.
“We have a game plan […] and the whole government is working in the same direction. We know where we’re going, ”said Pablo Rodriguez, Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant.
“A lot is going on. You can see how much communication Minister Miller and Minister Bennett have with aboriginal communities. We must find a solution that is sustainable over time, ”said Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau.
“It is certain that we all have in our minds what happened in Oka,” said Minister of Revenue Diane Lebouthillier. “This is not what we want to reproduce,” she noted.
For his part, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois strongly advises against any police intervention.
“We do not want to embark on a cycle of police intervention that will be repeated in the future,” said Yves-Francois Blanchet.
“It is not a solution,” he insisted. “It is not only a postponement of the problem, but it may be a way to make the problem worse,” he added.
In addition, Mr. Blanchet believes that Mr. Trudeau can contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to explore the possibility of withdrawing from Wet’suwt’en territory, a condition imposed by hereditary chiefs for the holding of a meeting with Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett.
Prime Minister Trudeau said on Tuesday that the meeting is the “key” to unblock protests across the country.
“He can pick up the phone, call them and say ‘listen, we have a national crisis,'” said Blanchet, imagining a phone call between the Prime Minister and the RCMP.
Mr. Blanchet believes that it may be possible for the RCMP to withdraw completely from the territory.
The Conservatives have a less conciliatory speech.
“Once and for all, we must hear a clear signal from the Prime Minister that these actions are illegal,” said Alain Rayes. If the First Nations, certain communities, the hereditary chiefs want to discuss, to negotiate [and] the government wants to do it, nobody is against that, that they do it outside the railroad tracks and that they stop taking the Canadian population hostage.”
