Parti Quebecois minister: Trudeau acting like a ‘young prince’

QUEBEC – A minister in the Parti Quebecois government is referring today to Justin Trudeau as “a young prince.”

Jean-Francois Lisee made the reference as the newly minted Liberal leader was visiting Quebec City.

He says Trudeau expected to meet the leaders of the three biggest provincial parties at one gathering — as if, in Lisee’s words, Trudeau were some “young prince descending from Ottawa to meet those who might someday become his subjects.”

Trudeau will meet with the leaders of Quebec’s two biggest oppostion parties, the Liberals and the Coalition for Quebec’s Future.

But he will not meet with PQ Premier Pauline Marois today. A spokeswoman for the premier says Marois wasn’t available today, but that she’ll welcome suggestions for a future meeting date.

Trudeau’s visit comes as he has become embroiledin a debate over the circumstances under which his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, introduced the Constitution in 1982.

A new book suggests the event was marred by improper behaviour by the Supreme Court of Canada, and Quebec’s political parties are demanding more information on the court’s role.

The younger Trudeau has shown no interest in reopening the constitutional debate; he has further irritated nationalists by suggesting that Quebec, led in 1982 by PQ founder Rene Levesque, made a “choice” not to endorse the deal.