Maria Mourani, the former Bloc Québécois MP who was tossed from the party’s caucus for her opposition to Quebec’s Charter of Values, is quitting the sovereignist movement that she says has abandoned its inclusive origins.

“I have come to the conclusion that my belonging to Canada, including its Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, better protects the Quebec identity of all citizens of Quebec. I am no longer an independentist,” she wrote in a letter released Wednesday afternoon.

“The ease with which Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms can be changed, even abolished, has convinced me of the relevance of the Canadian federal system.”

The release comes after a morning of speculation over whether Mourani might choose to join a federalist party. In the letter she makes no mention of joining another party, but rather excoriates the Bloc and Parti Québécois for turning their backs on the open and inclusive traditions founded under René Lévesque.

“In 1977, René Lévesque chose to make the Charter of the French Language fully subject to Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms,” she writes. “Today’s Parti Québécois has chosen a different path. It proposes to amend Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to, apparently, bring it in line with its policy of excluding conspicuous believers.”

“Who would have thought! The flagship of sovereignty is nothing like it was before,” she adds. “There are still a few independentist leaders who advocate an inclusive vision of the Quebec identity, but they are clearly on the fringe.”

The MP for Ahuntsic’s expulsion from the Bloc came after a blog post in which she criticized the Quebec charter as a “substantive error” that would cause “stigmatization and exclusion of certain communities, particularly some women.”

In response, Daniel Paillé, who stepped down as Bloc leader last week due to health reasons, said “Quebecers have the right to expect all federal political parties will respect their debates, their willingness to define themselves and defend their values.”

“This is what the Bloc Québécois does, and it’s why we clearly support the Parti Québécois’ proposal,” he added in a French statement announcing Mourani’s expulsion.

Mourani quickly found support from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, though, who praised her courage.

“Bravo to Maria Mourani for standing up to this divisive proposal. Mme Marois has seriously underestimated Quebecers’ respect for each other,” he tweeted.

Trudeau has sought to position the Liberals as the federalist option in Quebec, while the New Democrats have toed a more nuanced line, seeking to appeal to Quebec’s softer sovereignists.

Asked about Mourani at a press conference Wednesday morning, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said he hadn’t heard anything about her joining his party and said that if she were to join she’d have to run again under NDP colours.

Mulcair’s comments reflect the party’s recent criticism of Bruce Hyer, a former New Democrat who quit the party over the long gun registry and last week joined Elizabeth May’s Greens. At the time, the NDP said Hyer had betrayed constituents who voted him in as a New Democrat.

Maria Mourani Letter, 18 Dec 2013