Photo: Christine Muschi The Canadian Press For Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the events of recent days show that the CAQ has a “philosophy where there is no respect”.
Caroline Plante – The Canadian Press in Quebec
5:56 p.m.
- Quebec
PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon denounces “aggressive partisanship” at the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) where the Prime Minister's bodyguards mobilized to “attack” an elected official.< /p>
“It’s happening right now and it’s coming from an unhealthy political will. This is not good for the climate,” declared Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon at a press briefing in Montreal on Monday.
Last week, exasperated by questions about financing at the CAQ, Prime Minister François Legault crossed paths with and called solidarity MP Vincent Marissal a “national mud thrower”.
His press secretary, Ewan Sauves, added in the media that Mr. Marissal had run for office “on a lie”, referring to the fact that he had denied having flirted with the Party Liberal of Canada.
Employees of the CAQ's political offices continued the offensive on social networks all weekend, with one senior official even accusing Mr. Marissal of having “turned corners” when he was a journalist.
“It’s part of the political game,” Mr. Sauves said Monday afternoon in a message sent to The Canadian Press. Cabinet employees […] are engaged citizens. That’s also democracy.
“Now we realize that this is not the tone we want to give to the exchanges. The goal is to set the record straight. We advocate a respectful tone,” he added.
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Guilbault vs Bérubé
Last Thursday, the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, addressed PQ MP Pascal Bérubé in a corridor of parliament, in front of the cameras, to remind him that he had also participated in a fundraising cocktail when he was Minister of Tourism .
Mr. Bérubé asked her if she wanted him to talk about her 42 fundraising cocktails.
Ms. Guilbault was then preparing to hold a press briefing to respond to the bereaved couple who said they had to pay $200 to the CAQ to meet her. The story plunged the CAQ into embarrassment.
“The observation is alarming: the recent adventures in the National Assembly underline a chaotic start to the session for François Legault, leaving aside the real concerns of Quebecers,” lamented, in a message sent to The Canadian Press on Monday, the leader parliamentarian of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Monsef Derraji.
“The housing crisis and labor shortage demand urgent action, but the government appears distracted by partisan bickering. […] It is time for the government to refocus on the concrete needs of the population and regain the control necessary to respond effectively to these challenges,” he added.
The CAQ in turmoil
The CAQ has been in turmoil since January 23 due to controversies over its fundraising methods.
The Canadian Press revealed messages from CAQ deputies who invited municipal officials to party fundraising cocktails, suggesting that this would be an opportunity to advance issues.
Two CAQ elected officials, Sylvain Lévesque and Louis-Charles Thouin, are the subject of an investigation by the Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly.
The Electoral Act provides that any citizen can contribute up to $100 per year to a political party, but without compensation.
The Canadian Press also learned that nearly half of the mayors, or 503 out of 1,138, have contributed to financing the CAQ since the 2021 municipal elections, for a total of nearly $100,000.
The Sunhad also revealed that Ms. Guilbault and her colleague at the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, were by far the most popular ministers invited to CAQ fundraising cocktails. Incidentally, these are two ministries which award a lot of subsidies, the PQ then underlined.
Québec solidaire accused the CAQ of having set up a “stratagem” of financing, while the PQ mentioned a “systemic” method of financing.
For months, the CAQ has seen its support plummet in the polls. François Legault's party would now obtain 25% of voting intentions, compared to 32% for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon's PQ, according to the most recent Léger poll.