Parti Québécois looks to win allophone support

Parti Québécois Leader Pierre Karl Péladeau says his party needs to build bridges to allophone communities if it plans on achieving independence.

"We have to renew our exchanges and dialogue with cultural communities," he said in Sherbrooke on his way into his party's national council meeting, attended by 350 riding presidents and MNAs from across the province.

• Quebec secular charter 'abolishes rights,' opposition says
• Pierre Karl Péladeau elected leader of Parti Québécois

Péladeau said he believes it is "essential" his party improves its relationship with allophones, and has tasked the PQ's immigration critic, Maka Kotto, with shoring up those votes.

"We are open," said Kotto, who added that his party now has the will to build stronger connections to cultural communities. But when pressed by reporters to explain concretely how the party will do that, he would not answer. "If we had a strategy I wouldn't talk about it publicly," he said.

Péladeau, still only six months on the job as leader, dismissed the idea that his party's failed, divisive secular charter of values has damaged the PQ brand.

"I think that what was behind the charter was equality between men and women. This is what is important for me and this is what we'll continue to do," he said.

If passed, the secular charter would have banned public-sector employees from wearing overtly religious symbols.

He said when then-premier Pauline Marois triggered the 2014 provincial election, the charter was still in its draft stages. Given the chance, he said, he believes the PQ would have made a number of changes to it before the final version was tabled.

"I think it's irrelevant because we didn't go through the process. I think if we went through the process, there would have been a compromise done with the other parties and then therefore there would be something that would protect equality," he said.