Upset at choice of host, Parti Qubcois turns down invite to Fte nationale concert

The Parti Qubcois has turned down an invitation to address the crowd at a major concert marking the province's June 24 holiday in protest over the choice of host.

In a letter published online Monday, party spokespersonMganne Perry Mlanonaccused the organizers of lacking judgment when they named singer-songwriter mile Bilodeau as host of the Quebec City concert on the Plains of Abraham the evening before Quebec'sFte nationale.

"When you want to bring people together, the first thing to do is to show respect for others," the former PQ MNAfor Gaspwrote.

"In recent years, and particularly in recent months, mile Bilodeau has, on many occasions, showndisrespect toward the Parti Qubcois, its staff, its leader, its members, its supporters. He has also shown very little respect for anyone who advocates for state secularism," she wrote.

The 26-year-old Bilodeau, an award-winning artist whose fifth album is due out in September, has been a vocal critic of the province's secularism law, known as Bill 21, which he described in 2020 as "misogynistic, Islamophobic and degrading."

The law prevents civil servants deemed to be in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols including hijabs and turbans on the job.

Bilodeau has also mocked the Parti Qubcois and its leader as "whiners" and suggested the party should die out to make way for a better sovereignist option.

Perry Melanon wrote that while Bilodeau has a right to his opinions and that she wasn't calling for his removal, she said she didn't feel comfortable attending the pre-concert ceremony.

She also accused the group organizing the show of violating its principles of non-partisanship when it selected Bilodeau as host, noting he has campaigned for rival sovereignist party Qubec Solidaire.

The concert on the Plains of Abraham is among the signature events marking theFte nationale, which is also known as Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and is associated with the Quebec sovereignty movement.

Bilodeau suggested in a social media message that the PQ was trying to "cancel" himand promised to put on a great show with a variety of diverse performances celebrating Quebec.

"If you want to 'cancel' me, I suggest you go see what the Republicans are doing in the U.S.A.," Bilodeau wrote on Facebook. "They have experience in the field."

The debate stirred strong reaction in Quebec City, where Qubec Solidaire jumped to the artist's defence. Partyco-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois described Bilodeau as a "sovereignist who connects with young people," and criticized the Parti Qubcois for sitting out the concert.

"(Bilodeau) criticized the PQ, so the PQ is boycotting the St-Jean show," he wrote on social media.

"Putting partisan pride above national pride, what a shame."

• Quebec judge denies request to suspend ban on prayer room spaces in public schools

The concert organizer, theMouvement national des Qubcoises et Qubcois, has described the choice of Bilodeauas unifying and non-partisan, and recently minimized the controversy as a "tempest in a teapot," in an internal note obtained by The Canadian Press.

The group saidthat Bilodeau wasn't planning on using the June 23 concert,which it described as a "depoliticized" event,as a platform for his views on Bill 21.