In the news today, Sept. 21
Five stories in the news for Friday, Sept. 21
———
QUEBEC LEADERS SQUARE OFF IN LAST DEBATE
After seeing his party’s lead in the polls evaporate, Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Francois Legault tried to humanize his controversial position on immigration Thursday before hitting his Liberal opponent hard on secularism and corruption. Legault has been dogged over the past few weeks for repeatedly stating that immigrants who fail a French-language and values test cannot stay in Quebec — a stance that has allowed his rivals to paint him as heartless toward newcomers. In a previous debate Legault said he wasn’t planning on “expelling” citizens, but “people” who don’t pass the test. In Thursday’s third and last leaders’ debate, the Liberals’ Philippe Couillard brought up that comment, prompting Legault to try to neutralize the line of attack with what he called a “mea culpa.”