Bertrand St. Arnaud and Premier Pauline Marois

Premier Pauline Marois: So presto! Premier Pauline Marois suddenly felt sick to my stomach on Sunday at the thought that non-Quebecers might be trying to cheat the democratic system. Meanwhile her justice minister, Bertrand St. Arnaud, wondered darkly whether the election is about to be stolen by people from Ontario and the rest of Canada, according to The Star. Yet amid this hyped alarm , chief electoral officer Jacques Drouin scoffed at the idea of big-time cheating. It doesnt exist, a spokesman said. Only a crank, or a cynic bent on stirring trouble, would claim that sneaky Ontario is flooding Quebec with young anglos on a mission. And analysts point out that there arent enough anglo students in all but a tiny handful of ridings to make a difference and Its all so sadly predictable. The Parti Quebecois spent the weekend in shrill cry, manufacturing a crisis in the run-up to Quebecs April 7 election. The Liberals have taken a slight lead in the polls, mostly because Quebecers cant stomach the thought of another referendum, and the separatists urgently need to change the channel. Talk about a bogus case of the vapours. The PQ lost no time exploiting alarmist media reports that anglo university students in Montreal and Sherbrooke are registering in droves to vote, hoping to deny the separatists the victory to which they feel entitled. Marois mused about tightening the voter rules. And students who have lived in Quebec for years, who are Canadian citizens, over 18, and who have every right to vote, have been hassled when they try to register. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.