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Conservative leader Duhaime will not mark Truth and Reconciliation Day

"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."

Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime arrives for provincial leaders' debate at Radio-Canada in Montreal Sept. 22, 2022.
Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime arrives for provincial leaders' debate at Radio-Canada in Montreal Sept. 22, 2022. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

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.

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“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

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