(Montreal) The Parti Québécois wants to know what is hidden in the archives of the Grenier Commission, which investigated the financing of the “No” camp during the 1995 referendum, and is asking the Legault government to declassify all the documents it still has. Meaning of publication ban.
In a press release issued on Monday, National Patriots Day, Paul St-Pierre Plamonton, president of the sovereign body, confirmed that the Quebec government had “received a legal opinion confirming that, by simple law, all information can be classified.” found during this investigation.
“We know that tens of thousands of disenfranchised people voted in 1995, but we don’t know how many millions of dollars were illegally spent on the No side. […] Part of the answer can be found in the testimony and documents of the Grenier Commission,” the party leader said in an interview during a march in Montreal on Monday for National Patriots Day.
“Seeking the truth, getting the truth, is part of patriotism to serve the common good. Without truth, without hard facts, it is difficult to aim for a just society,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon added.
Photo by Jacques Bosinot, Canadian Press Archives
The leader of the PQ, Paul St-Pierre Plamonton
The PQ leader wants to submit a motion on the matter to the National Assembly “this week” to ensure he receives a firm response from coalition Avenir Quebec on the matter.
“Nevertheless, Judge Grenier made discoveries that are currently secret: what 90 witnesses told him during closed hearings and more than 4,500 documents they filed were sealed as non-disseminated, non-communicated and non-disclosed. Order without time limits,” the Parti Québécois laments in its note.
“To the best of our knowledge, no document or information has been classified except for the most serious government secrets. Why hide such important and specific information? “There is no reason why Quebecers should not be told the whole truth about this period in our history when people violated our basic democratic rules,” said Mr. Saint-Pierre Plamonton.
In January 2006, Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer mandated Commissioner Bernard Grenier to investigate Option Canada’s activities in the months leading up to the 1995 referendum.
The request follows the publication of the book “Les secrets d’Option Canada,” in which authors Norman Lester and Robin Philpott alleged that Option Canada had made expenditures in favor of the “No” option. “No” to the official agent of the group.
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