Does Pauline Marois have a Machiavellian plot for an independent Quebec?

To the chagrin of political reporters across the country, this is the final week of the Quebec election campaign.

So far the campaign has brought us a flurry of racist comments, allegations of ties to corruption, suggestions of voter suppression, and stories of off-shore accounts.

And then there's the topic du jour: Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard is accusing Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois of being "Machiavellian."

Citing a La Presse story as proof — which cites PQ sources — Couillard says that the PQ will pass the Charter of Values knowing it will be struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada, and use that rebuke to gain support for an independent Quebec. It's been a plan in the works, according to the La Presse and Couillard, since 2007.

"We see their plan now. [The charter] has been an elaborate ploy from the beginning," Couillard told a Quebec radio station, according to the Montreal Gazette.

"The PQ is trying to fool people who are sympathetic to the [charter]. It’s part of a referendum strategy and that’s clear as day now.

"This divisiveness was identified as an electoral tool, and was deliberately used . . . to push Quebecers toward a big fight with Ottawa."

[ Related: Head of Montreal Muslim Council decries PQ candidates’ discriminatory comments ]

Political scientist Bruce Hicks suggests that it's a believable story.

"Having the [Values Charter] struck down by the Supreme Court would [allow] for a PQ government to say 'Quebec values are illegal in Canada, we need to be independent," he told Yahoo Canada News in an email exchange.

It could work.

According to a CROP survey from earlier this month, support for the proposed charter of values now stands at an impressive 51 per cent.

How would that 51 per cent of Quebecers feel if 'Big Brother' Canada said no to a piece of legislation they support? They might be more easily convinced about the merits of an independent Quebec.

[ Related: Marois says she would invoke notwithstanding clause to ensure charter's survival ]

After the La Presse story broke, Marois, however, was quick to announce a change in her party's policy: she told reporters that she would invoke the notwithstanding clause — a clause enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows provinces to override the federal Charter on its own pieces of legislation.

But Hicks suggests Marois merely evoked the notwithstanding clause in an attempt to kill the referendum story.

"If voters are thinking about the charter on election day the PQ may win," he said.

"If they are thinking referendum the Liberals may win."

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