VANCOUVER-Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff blasted his Conservative opponent Sunday for fear-mongering about the threat of Quebec sovereignty.
“It’s all the language of fear,” he said. “Fear of democracy, fear of elections, fear of instability, and now the latest thing he pulls out of the air is fear of sovereignty. We have nothing to fear here.”
Earlier, Harper urged supporters to elect a majority Conservative government as the best defence against a renewed push by the Parti Québécois and the Bloc Québécois to separate from Canada and break up the country.
Ignatieff noted that Quebecers were also Canadians.
“They are brothers and sisters, they are our friends,” he said. “They have maintained a civilized dialogue since the foundation of this country. it will continue and I remain entirely confident in the future of Canada.”
Harper’s warnings came after PQ leader Pauline Marois obtained a 93 per cent confidence vote at a party convention, prompting Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe to say “everything becomes possible” in the push for sovereignty when the two parties work together.
But at a morning news conference with former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, Ignatieff said that Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe and Marois have the democratic right to launch Quebec into another debate about sovereignty.But he said he would defend Canada and ask Quebecers in that debate whether they believe it would actually resolve their deepest concerns.
Martin also said he was confident that Quebec Premier Jean Charest would be re-elected for another mandate.
Ironically, when Martin was prime minister he sent out cabinet ministers such as Pierre Pettigrew and Stéphane Dion to warn Canadians that electing a Conservative government would also drive up support for the sovereignty movement in Quebec.
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