News

Quebec Premier Jean Charest further distanced his government from the federal Conservative agenda Monday arguing against many key proposals in Stephen Harper's election platform.

Mr. Charest invited all five federal party leaders to express their views on no fewer that 14 demands as part of a “non-exhaustive” list that appeared designed to underscore the increasing polarization between Quebec and the Harper campaign on many of the issues.

On a day of international financial crisis and when public-opinion polls showed Conservative support weakening in Quebec, Mr. Charest's second incursion into the federal election campaign called for greater provincial oversight on major economic and social policies.

Mr. Charest called on Ottawa to scrap a Harper government proposal on Senate reform that calls for the election of senators. The Premier also opposed the federal Conservatives' plan to create a national securities commission, which would overlap provincial regulators.

Mr. Charest and the Conservatives have opposing views on other issues listed in Monday's demands, such as measures to deal with climate change, the handling of young offenders and the need for tighter gun control. Mr. Charest's words had some questioning whether the Quebec government was trying to influence the Oct. 14 vote.

“I'm not tackling these issues on a partisan basis and I'm not trying to say how people should vote either,” Mr. Charest said at a news conference Monday. “As Premier of Quebec, I want to say to all federal parties where we stand.”

The Premier said there was no desire for a renewed constitutional debate, and major reforms could be achieved through administrative agreements. For instance, nothing stops Ottawa from negotiating a bilateral deal with Quebec to limit federal spending powers in areas of provincial jurisdiction, Mr. Charest said as he continued to project himself as the only true “defender of Quebec's interests” in Canada.

“As good federalists, what we want is to take advantage of the flexibility of the federal system to make it work for us and to do it in a context where we can make real progress,” Mr. Charest said.

Real progress was made in the past, but much more can be achieved in the future, he said. Mr. Charest wants more federal money for postsecondary education, the elimination of obstacles by Ottawa to allow for gas and oil exploration in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and a share of federal Arctic development funding for Northern Quebec's Nunavik territory.

Last weekend at a party meeting in Lévis, Mr. Charest unveiled Plan North, a grandiose vision for the development of Quebec's northern territory in his quest to “push back the limits of our last great frontier.”

With the plan – coupled with the promotion of a free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union, an upcoming manpower deal between Quebec and France and a deal to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by next April – Mr. Charest appeared to be defining his own re-election platform, seeking to create the perception that in a time of uncertainty, his government alone could ensure wealth and prosperity.

“For us the priority is the economy,” he said, “not another round of constitutional negotiations.”

Week 4 of the campaign

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• MAP ARCHIVES: Days 1-3, Days 4-7, Week 2, Week 3.