Lise won't say what he would do if PQ were to hold balance of power

Jean-Franois Liseis refusing to say what he would do if the Parti Qubcois holdsthe balance of power after the election.

With polls showing the race tightening ahead of the Oct. 1 vote, Lise was asked Wednesday about whether he would be prepared to enter into an alliance with other opposition parties to topple a Liberal minority government.

The question was part of an interview Wednesday by CBCMontreal Daybreak host Mike Finnerty.

Mike Finnerty (MF): You say that change is important. How important is it to you to put an end to the Liberal government? If they get a minority government, and you could make a deal with another party to get them out of power, are you ready to do that?

Jean-Franois Lise (JFL): I won't answer that question. I'm going to be upfront with you. We'll burn this bridge [sic]if we get to it. What I can say is that if I'm elected with a minority government, I will govern as a minority government for four years.

Lisealso outlined his party's plans to improve the education and health care system, andaddressed concerns about EnglishCEGEPstudents, systemic racism and the controversy surrounding PQ candidate MichelleBlanc.

Listen to the full interview here:

Hereare some further key exchanges, edited for length and clarity.

On sending Englishstudents to French CEGEPs

MF: You've proposed students at English speaking CEGEPS go to a French language CEGEP for their final term, and preferably in the regions. Can you explain that idea?

JFL: The problem we're trying to solve is that we don't want students to get a degree and then leave Quebec because they find out in the job market that their French skills are not good enough to thrive here. I want to make [the proposed program] mandatory because I want to make sure that every English student can pass the test to stay in Quebec. It's not tough love, it's just love. We're forcing our students to do a number of things to make sure they have the skills to thrive. I want them to stay. We will incentivize that they go to regions because it's a great adventure.

On Michelle Blanc's controversial statements

MF: PQ candidate Michelle Blanc has said that Hasidic Jews should just disappear because they ignore her on the street, and made a joke about Hitler's birthday. Why do you want her as a candidate when she's saying things like that?

JFL: Because she's one of the best minds we have on making sure that every Quebecer has fibre optic internet in their house. I'm concerned by the rise of muzzling of freedom of expression and the fact that people will take the worst possible spin on everything. We're getting in a place where some people would put the worst possible spin on everything, and if we go there, we're going to have a stressful society and an angry society. I will defend the right to have a religion, and practice a religion, and criticize religion until my last breath.

On systemic racism in Quebec

MF: Is there any systemic racism in Quebec?

JFL: I think the concept is useful and I think it's a legitimate discussion. I know that the concept is not well received in large swaths of the population. I intend to work against racism and discrimination. We are proposing that in every board that the government appoints, there's going to be 13 to 16 percent of diverse people. We commit to get these numbers up, and the Liberals haven't.

On sovereignty

MF: Sovereignty has become less important this election. What's happened to that thirst for sovereignty?

JFL: The reason why we have this commitment not to hold a referendum in the first mandate is because we see that sovereigntyis not on the list of priorities of Quebecers because they feel that their health system, their education system, and theirjustice system is broken. And if you want to build another story in your house, you have to make sure the foundations are fixed.

On being the underdog

MF: Who's going to win this election?

JFL: I will. I love being the underdog. In the end, the underdog always wins.

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