Photo: Karoline Boucher La Presse canadienne Éric Duhaime a recommandé au chef péquiste de ne pas montrer que ces menaces ont un effet sur lui.
The PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, demonstrated too much vulnerability by reacting with emotion to the death threats to which he and his family were subjected, declared Monday the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), Éric Duhaime.
During a press conference where he spoke on the follow-up to be given to the latest government budget, Mr. Duhaime recommended to the PQ leader not to show that these threats have an effect on him .
“It’s advice that I give him very friendly,” he responded to a question on the subject. I don’t think it’s in our interest to expose our vulnerabilities. We must ignore that. These people should not be given any attention. »
On Friday, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon confirmed that he and his family were the targets of threats which led to the arrest of a suspect. Upset, the PQ leader had to interrupt the press scrum where he was questioned on this subject, the time to pull himself together.
The leader of the PCQ deplored that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon and his family had been the target of threats. He recognized that these situations can shake the people targeted.
“We’re definitely affected,” he said. But I don't think it helps to stop that [to show it], I think we have to demonstrate that we are strong. We must continue, we must not listen to them. »
Also read
- Paul St-Pierre Plamondon accuses the media of not having respected his private life
Mr. Duhaime highlighted the six months he spent in Iraq, in 2008-2009, as a consultant to the National Democratic Institute, a non-governmental organization.
“What I was taught when I was in Iraq, during the war, was to always stand up, to not change our ways in the face of people who tried to intimidate us” , he remembered.
The leader of the PCQ denounced the use of violence, but he noted that, despite everything, Quebec is relatively protected from such excesses.
“The political class must do as we all do, say that it is unacceptable to talk about violence, to associate violence with politics,” he said. In Quebec, honestly, we are still lucky, we are a place where there are very few. »
Freedom of the press
At the end of the week, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon accused the media of having lacked respect for his private life by asking him questions about these threats and by broadcasting images that showed him emotional, in a press briefing, Friday, when he answered questions.
On Monday, Mr. Duhaime said that the public context of the event where this occurred did not lend itself to these kinds of considerations.
“I think from the moment you're in a press conference, it's very difficult to start telling the media what moment they can choose, what moment they can't choose, he said. If we start playing this game, it can be risky. I don’t think anyone wants that, freedom of the press is fundamental in Quebec. »
Mr. Duhaime claimed that he had received threats in particular during the controversy over his unpaid property taxes in 2022. He claims to have sold a property of which a photo was broadcast as part of a report on this subject.
“I had to move, that gives you an idea. I haven't talked about it because it's over, it's in the past. Today, I can talk about it, it’s sure it’s not always pleasant. But we must not give [the] side [to threats]. »
On Monday, Mr. Duhaime called for the resignation of Finance Minister Eric Girard due to the government's latest deficit budget.