Some delegates called for a referendum as early as spring 2002. She said party members have to get out and talk to Quebecers to convince them that sovereignty is a good idea, drawing on examples in the daily news like Quebec's role in the Summit of the Americas meeting in Quebec City next month. But if a CROP poll conducted for the Montreal daily La Presse is any indication of what Quebecers have to say about sovereignty, the PQ is far from its goal. The poll found that 62 per cent of Quebecers disapprove of Landry's intention to talk more about sovereignty. In an interview, Landry said he was not concerned by this apparent lack of interest in sovereignty.
People have other concerns, such as health.
The CROP poll also projected that the PQ would get 42 per cent of the vote, compared with 45 per cent for the Quebec Liberals. But members of Landry's entourage pointed out that because the PQ has the lead among francophone voters and Liberal strength is concentrated on the island of Montreal, the PQ would still win a majority in the National Assembly with 42 per cent of the vote. Landry did not speak to delegates yesterday, but he followed a debate on the party's language policy and, in a vote by show of hands, he supported a moderate position in a showdown with the party's language hawks. Outside the hotel where the PQ meeting was held, two waves of demonstrators came to rally in favour of adequate funding for the province's schools. Click here to recommend this story to a friend.