The leaders of Quebec’s main political parties are continuing to appeal to voters with less than a week to go in the provincial election campaign. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), the Parti Québécois (PQ), Québec solidaire and the Quebec Conservatives (PCQ) are all expecting to win seats in the election. Élections Québec said Tuesday that nearly a quarter of all eligible voters had cast their ballots in advance polls. Immigration has dominated much of the campaign, and was a flashpoint for the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Conservatives on Tuesday. Both parties also promised to reduce the number of temporary immigrants and asylum seekers admitted in the province. The PQ has made the same pledges. Quebecers go to the polls on Oct. 5. Key details: Follow along for the latest updates: Milliard emphasizes nurse-to-patient ratios The Quebec Liberals say they want to mandate safer nurse-to-patient ratios in health care. The party’s Sainte-Rose candidate, Dr. Cécile Tremblay, a microbiologist-infectious disease specialist and clinician-researcher at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), explained that the goal is to better support nurses by adjusting their workload to the number of patients and the complexity of care. “Nurses who burn out and go on sick leave aren’t doing so because they’re lazy or because they take too much sick leave,” she said. “Better supporting these caregivers means providing them with better working conditions, preventing them from burning out and leaving the profession.” The Quebec Liberal Party says it plans to introduce legislation to establish mandatory minimum staffing ratios for nurses and workers in long-term care facilities (CHSLDs). The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) recommends a ratio of one nurse to four patients in emergency rooms and one nurse and one nursing assistant to six patients. In long-term care facilities (CHSLDs), it calls for one nurse and one nursing assistant for 20 patients during the day, 25 patients in the evening and 37 patients at night. - The Canadian Press. Homelessness: Québec solidaire accuses CAQ of abandoning municipalities Québec solidaire is accusing the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) of abandoning municipalities in the wake of a worsening homelessness crisis. “The CAQ has completely abandoned municipalities in the face of this humanitarian crisis,” said QS Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal. “We must tackle the housing crisis.” READ MORE: Ghazal’s comments were in response to data published by La Presse, which found that there are nearly 200 tents in the homeless encampment on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal — 100 more than last spring. “We want to provide 6,000 community-based social housing units for people experiencing homelessness, along with massive investment in psychosocial support to enable these individuals to get off the streets in the long term — not just give them a temporary roof over their heads,” said Ghazal. “It’s going to take investments in public services and social services,” she said. “[Not] cuts like those proposed by the other parties.” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada previously said in an interview with TVA two weeks ago that she was considering legal measures to resolve the homelessness crisis after a toddler was found alone at the camp on Notre-Dame Street. - The Canadian Press. PQ proposes Indigenous language, culture classes in schools The PQ says it is open to introducing Indigenous language and culture classes in elementary and high schools. The party says it plans to consult with First Nations and Inuit communities to “develop a plan aimed at strengthening the vitality of Indigenous languages throughout Quebec.” “Through the meetings that Pascal Paradis and I have held with various leaders in recent months, we have recognized the importance of rebuilding our relationship with Indigenous nations on a foundation of respect and dialogue,” he said. “That is why we are presenting commitments today that will foster mutual understanding and collaborative efforts necessary for reconciliation with First Nations and Inuit.” - The Canadian Press. PQ criticizes Mark Carney’s plan to increase immigration A decision to increase immigration to Quebec by Mark Carney’s federal government would be an “undemocratic abuse of power,” according to PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. In an interview with The New York Times, Carney had mentioned a controlled increase in immigration. However, St-Pierre Plamondon reiterated that Quebec is a democracy that can determine its own immigration thresholds, asserting that he has the public’s support in opposing the federal initiative, which he described as an “ideological drift.” “Quebec is a democracy. We will determine for ourselves the immigration levels that correspond to our capacity to welcome newcomers,” he said. “It is certainly not up to the federal government to act unilaterally, as it has often done in recent years.” - The Canadian Press. Greater autonomy for Indigenous: PCQ The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) says it is committed to granting greater autonomy to Indigenous nations, particularly when it comes to youth protection. On National Truth and Reconciliation Day, the PCQ released a document titled “Indigenous Platform,” stating that it would “include Indigenous nations in decision-making by enshrining voting seats for them at regional decision-making tables in the law.” The PCQ has promised to create 17 regional decision-making bodies to devolve more power to the regions. The party says it also wants to facilitate the preservation of Indigenous cultures, consult with Indigenous nations on projects that impact ancestral territories and collaborate on Indigenous-led protected areas. - The Canadian Press. PQ to break with monarchy if elected Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is promising to break with the British monarchy if elected on Oct. 5. He says a PQ government would not allocate any money for the lieutenant-general and redistribute those sums to tackle homelessness. - The Canadian Press. Elections Quebec receives 160 complaints in 5 days Documents released through access to information legislation reveal Élections Québec received 160 complaints over five days after the agency announced it was sending the unilingual voter guides. In one of the complaints, a person who identified themselves as an English-speaking Quebecer noted how they were part of a minority forced to fight hard to have their rights respected. - The Canadian Press. Day 35 Here is where the party leaders are planning to start their day, in order of first appearance: Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) QS Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal is set to participate in a walkabout and leafleting activity at the Saint-Henri Metro station at 8:45 a.m. She will then visit the Montreal SPCA at 10:30 a.m. before heading to Westmount Park at 12:30 p.m. to make an announcement and participate in the Every Child Counts march for National Truth and Reconciliation Day. She will attend a screening of Pauline Julien: Femme pays at 5:45 p.m. at the Beaubien Cinema. Meanwhile, QS Spokesperson Sol Zanetti will participate in activities starting at 2 p.m. to mark Truth and Reconciliation Day in Quebec City. Charles Milliard (Quebec Liberal Party) Liberal Leader Charles Milliard is expected to remain in Greater Montreal to make an announcement at 9 a.m. about telehealth at the Laval region’s campaign headquarters. He will then have lunch at Rôtisserie Panama around noon and stop by Pâtisserie Afroditi at 1:15 p.m. At 1:50 p.m., he will take a walk along Jarry Street. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (Parti Québécois) PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is slated to hold a press conference at 9:05 a.m. at Parc des Pionniers in Rouyn-Noranda. He will then hold another press conference at 1:45 p.m. at Place Hauterive in Baie-Comeau before attending a rally at the Musée de la Gaspésie at 4:25 p.m. in Gaspé. Christine Fréchette (Coalition Avenir Québec) CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette is set to meet with residents at 10:05 a.m. at Le Saint Sau Pub Gourmand in Saint-Sauveur. She will then attend a campaign lunch at 11:45 a.m. at the St-Hubert restaurant and bar in Sainte-Adèle. At 2:30 p.m., she will meet with residents at Domaine Lafrance - Les vergers in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac. Éric Duhaime (Quebec Conservative Party) Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime is expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to present the party’s vision for Indigenous nations at the Fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City. He will hold another press briefing at 3:30 p.m. at the Villa des jeunes in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and participate in a campaign event at 5:35 p.m. at the St-Bernard pub and restaurant in Beaupré. The leaders
