Marois to pursue a strong, sovereigntist agenda

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois may have a minority government, but she has an ambitious separatist agenda, the Globe and Mail reports.

“My government is sovereigntist,” she told reporters in Quebec City. “Remaining a province of Canada constitutes a risk. … We have the firm conviction that the future of Quebec is to become a sovereign country.”

She says her goal for her first term is to firmly establish the limitations of Quebec’s provincial status within Canada, so better articulate why Quebec needs to be a sovereign nation. The PQ will also be promoting sovereignty abroad, as well as establishing its credentials as responsible managers of the economy by balancing the budget while abolishing the health tax and eliminating the controversial university tuition fee hikes.

While few analysts expect the minority government to last more than two years, Marois is looking to put her government in a strong place to form a majority in the next election.