General

PQ leader disses the Queen

PQ leader Pauline Marois has taken advantage of the first week of Quebec’s provincial election to put down the Queen.

“We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a painting to please the Queen,” Marois said at a campaign stop. “That’s money wasted. Then we take down a Riopelle (painting) to replace it with a portrait of the queen. I would think the government has better things to do.”

She is referring to the work of Canadian Riopelle that has been removed from the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. Our estimable Queen took her place. Elsewhere in Canada’s diplomatic beachheads around the world, the royal visage now graces visitors.

Marois thinks the monarchy is “outdated” and “useless.” Most Canadians, apparently, disagree. A Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey in May suggests 51 per cent of Canadians want to retain the monarchy and its octagenarian representative.

Still, Marois may have found her winning issue. Residents of La Belle Province only support the Queen to the tune of 24 per cent.

 

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