Mathieu Bock-Côté defended the arrival of Jacinthe-Ève Arel in the Parti québécois, arguing that her right-wing positions should not exclude her from the civic space. He recalled that she had sometimes seen qualities in Donald Trump, severely criticized health measures during the pandemic, and argued that there were only two sexes. Bock-Côté specified that he was not commenting on the merits of these opinions, but that they could be contested without justifying, in his view, Arel's exclusion. He accused members of Québec solidaire of demanding Arel's dismissal and wanting to ban her from political life. He also criticized some Péquistes who had relayed this indignation and claimed that Arel did not have a place in the PQ. According to him, the party was a coalition that could welcome social democrats, progressives, conservatives, and libertarians. Bock-Côté argued that the independence of Quebec was the common ground for Péquistes, despite their disagreements on the model of society. He believed that the sovereignist movement should also welcome people close to Éric Duhaime's ideas, and presented Arel's membership in the independence camp as a contribution to this cause. #Québec #Indépendance #Politique (translated)
