Canada refuses again the visit of Carles Puigdemont to Quebec

For more than two years, exiled President Carles Puigdemont has been trying to visit Quebec. He has been invited by the Bloc Quebecois, which has always denounced the Spanish repression and supported Catalonia’s political prisoners and exiles. In the spring of 2019, the Canadian government didn’t allow Puigdemont to enter the country. Now the federal court has validated the government’s decision.

The court’s ruling, published today by Radio-Canada, dates from 22 September, the eve of Puigdemont’s temporary arrest in Italy. According to the Canadian judge, Puigdemont and his team have not answered their questions or provided relevant evidence. Puigdemont’s Canadian lawyer, Stéphane Handfield, denies this and says that the decision taken by Canada’s immigration services is political.

The Bloc Quebecois had invited again Puigdemont to visit Quebec between late October and early November this year. In fact, in a letter signed on 13 July in Waterloo, the exiled President acknowledged that the invitation was a great honor, because, he said, Quebec is a country with which Catalans feel very united.

The Bloc Quebecois wanted the visit to include a visit to the Quebec National Assembly and a speech at the Research Institute on Self-Determination of Peoples and National Independence. “Puigdemont is a model of courage for all peoples who claim the right to self-determination” said the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Yves-François Blanchet. And he added that the visit would serve to contribute to the “beautiful” friendship between the two nations.

« Vouloir rendre criminel un référendum pacifique et consultatif sur le droit à l’autodétermination des Catalans, c’est comme si on avait dit au Québec qu’il fallait emprisonner René Lévesque en 1980. » @yfblanchet, au sujet de la cause @KRLS. 🎗#BlocQc pic.twitter.com/PUqepcbfMt

— Bloc Québécois (@BlocQuebecois) September 29, 2021