"It's not just on one day, it's every day," Éric Duhaime said. "There's an election coming up. We're in the last stretch."
Éric Duhaime’s campaign won’t mark the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Friday.
The Conservative Party of Quebec leader told reporters he is too busy to mark the day, which commemorates Indigenous victims of brutality over the past centuries.
Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Montreal Gazette Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
“My agenda is already full; I’m going to do it as often as I can,” Duhaime said Friday morning. “It’s not just on one day, it’s every day. There’s an election coming up. We’re in the last stretch and I have many other activities already planned today.
“Today is the last sprint, and it was the only day the mayor of Quebec City was available to meet us, so I will be meeting him later on, at noon.”
Asked what message it might send to Indigenous communities, Duhaime said he “takes many moments. And it’s not just one day, it’s 365 days a year.”
Duhaime said he has met with the chief of the Wendake land that is in his riding, and he intends to meet with the community in the future.
“I met the leader of the community a few days ago. I met many members of the community and I will continue to do it in the next few days or weeks,” he said. “It’s going to be part of my job and I want to represent those people 365 days a year.”
jmagder@postmedia.com
twitter.com/jasonmagder
-
'If every child matters, then show up': Montrealers to march for reconciliation
-
Joyce Echaquan's family files $2.7M suit over her death at a Joliette hospital
-
Tap here for complete Quebec election coverage