Caroline St-Hilaire denies having been the subject of a partisan appointment to the OIF
The States propose , and Secretary General Louise Mushikiwabo has, assures the former CAQ candidate.
Caroline St-Hilaire visited our Sherbrooke studios on Wednesday noon to speak with Alec Castonguay.
The x27;ex-mayor of Longueuil Caroline St-Hilaire ensures that her appointment as administrator of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) has nothing to do with the fact that; she wore the colors of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) in the last elections.
The 53-year-old politician, who ran unsuccessfully in the riding of Sherbrooke last October, defended herself from having been the subject of a partisan appointment in an interview Wednesday on the show Midi info, on ICI Première.
According to her, her candidacy may have been proposed by Quebec and Ottawa, the General Secretary of the OIF, Louise Mushikiwabo, could very well have rejected it, because there were other competitors.
It was not a foregone conclusion, explained Ms. St-Hilaire on Wednesday at the microphone of Alec Castonguay. I had to do my job to do interviews, to convince the Secretary General, and I also had to convince the other states, countries [and] governments that make up La Francophonie.
So no, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's not an appointment from the Government of Quebec, she assured.
“It was really the secretary general who chose me. She could have said to the Government of Quebec, “Thank you, but she's not my candidate, I'm choosing another candidate from another country.” »
— Caroline St-Hilaire, new administrator of the International Organization of La Francophonie
Ms. St-Hilaire believes that the choice of Louise Mushikiwabo stopped on her candidacy because of her experience as the first magistrate of the fifth largest city in Quebec, the mayors and mayoresses being at the head of local governments.
And that's what the Secretary General wants me to be more on the ground, she said.
< h2>New administrator of the OIF, Caroline St-Hilaire intends to be more present in the field
EMISSION ICI PREMIÈRE • Midi info
Ms. St-Hilaire was appointed to her new position following a special meeting of the Permanent Council of La Francophonie on Tuesday.
She will occupy the organization's second-highest position and will begin her duties in Paris on April 3, earning an annual salary of approximately C$250,000.
His candidacy had been proposed by the Legault government a few weeks ago, a suggestion strongly criticized by the opposition parties.
The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, had accused the CAQ of “patronage” by trying to grant a prestigious position to its former candidate, beaten by the solidarity Christine Labrie in the last general election. .
In January, Prime Minister François Legault had also considered assigning Ms. St-Hilaire to a tailor-made position as Quebec's delegate general in Barcelona, but this appointment, described as partisan by the PLQ and by Québec solidaire, had not materialized.
There have been discussions, admitted the main interested party on Wednesday. But when the Minister [of International Relations] called me to tell me that there was this idea of being able to propose my candidacy [to the OIF], I found the ;very interesting idea.
Caroline St-Hilaire was a member of the Bloc Québécois in the House of Commons for four terms, from 1997 to 2008. She was also the first woman to occupy the position of Mayor of Longueuil, from 2009 to 2017.
As Number 2 of the OIF, Ms. St-Hilaire will succeed two other Canadians, Geoffroi Montpetit and Catherine Cano, who in turn left their positions before the end of their terms .
Without wanting to speak for [her] predecessors or speculate about what happened, the new administrator of La Francophonie has shown herself to be aware of the challenges waiting for him in Paris. It was part of my discussions and I had to feel that "it clicks" […] with the Secretary General, she mentioned on Wednesday.
I had two meetings by videoconference with her and one meeting in person, and I I not only fell under his spell, but in addition, [I am] convinced that we are complementary, that we have the same vision, continued Ms. St-Hilaire, who assured that she really wants to work with Ms. Mushikiwabo.
With information from La Presse canadienne
