Quebec's current Prime Minister makes derogatory remarks about the hemp and cannabis industryDaily news

During TVA’s Face-à-Face debate, Premier Christine Fréchette sparked an uproar when she told Charles Milliard: “The only company you brought to Bécancour was a pot company.”

As our CEO, Pierre Leclerc, explained so well to Luc Ferrandez and Nathalie Normandeau on 98.5 FM: “It’s disgraceful. I legitimately question her genuine interest in supporting our entrepreneurs, developing our regions and focusing on the economy. That being said, this morning, when I looked at my messages, (…) I was flooded with messages, including from SQDC employees, who said they felt insulted and who described the comments as contemptuous, demeaning, disparaging, disdainful and stigmatizing. (…) On the entrepreneurs’ side, the messages I received were almost cries from the heart. People were saying: ‘We are an industry that has invested more than $5 billion in Quebec, represents 8,200 jobs, with an average salary of $105,000, and contributes more than $450 million a year to the government.’ (…) Making such a reductive comment for the sake of a political attack is disgraceful for a premier. It fails to recognize the economic impact we generate in Quebec.”

On TVA Nouvelles, he also underscored the industry’s economic weight, noting that “Ms. Fréchette attacked an industry, and an industry that, so far, has had a much more positive economic impact than the battery sector.”

Joël Lalancette, a member of AQIC’s Board of Directors and General Manager of 5 Points Cannabis, highlighted another important reality: “What bothered me the most is that we are probably one of the few sectors in Quebec that brings a lot of money into government coffers without ever asking [the government] for anything. Where are we heading with the economy if our [outgoing] premier thinks this way?”

TO LISTEN TO MS. FRÉCHETTE'S COMMENTS: TVA 

TO LISTEN TO PIERRE LECLERC'S INTERVIEW: 98,5 FM

TO READ PIERRE LECLERC'S INTERVIEW: TVA Nouvelles

TO READ JOËL LALANCETTE'S INTERVIEW: Radio-Canada