'He was invited': Carney accuses St-Pierre Plamondon of refusing to attend EU summit dinner

According to the Canadian Press, Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is accusing Ottawa of muzzling him at the upcoming Canada-European Union summit in Montreal.[2] The news agency reports that the premier will not speak at the summit taking place Thursday and Friday.[2]"He was invited to the dinner and he refused," Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. "It's his decision to leave the chair empty."[2] Global News reports that Carney said St-Pierre Plamondon declined an invitation to join him and the other premiers for a dinner with European officials during the summit.[3]The Canadian Press reports that the premier wrote on social media that Ottawa is seeking to impose economic decisions on Quebec without allowing the province a seat at the negotiating table.[2] According to the same report, St-Pierre Plamondon wrote that Ottawa thinks letting the premier "serve shrimp cocktails at a reception constitutes an acceptable and sufficient form of influence"[2].Radio-Canada reports that a PQ statement called the situation surreal[4] and argued that Quebec should be allowed to speak because the agreements under discussion risk binding the province for years.CBC News reports that Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister, Marie-Claude Sarrazin, quoted Carney's Davos line back at him: "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu."[5]Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters, according to CBC, that Carney "should pick up the phone, invite Paul, and apologize."[5]CBC also reports that St-Pierre Plamondon announced in a social media post that he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron.[5]