(Quebec) The jury trial of former PQ MP Harold LeBel, who is charged with sexual assault, begins on Monday.
Posted at 6:13 a.m.
It is not yet known if the 60-year-old man will testify during the proceedings which will take place over three weeks at the Rimouski courthouse.
Mr. LeBel had announced at the beginning of March that he would not run again in the provincial elections, since his trial fell in the middle of the election period.
“Deeply disappointed” to be “forced” to leave politics, he clarified that his decision had nothing to do with “a potential presumption as to the outcome of this affair”.
Harold LeBel was arrested on December 15, 2020 by police officers from the Sûreté du Québec, then expelled from the Parti québécois for the entire duration of the legal process.
He quickly announced through his lawyer his intention to plead not guilty to the charge of sexual assault that was brought against him.
The acts of which Mr. LeBel is accused occurred in 2017; the identity of the alleged victim is protected by a publication ban.
A long-time sovereigntist activist, Harold LeBel was elected under the PQ banner in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. He had sat since December 2020 as an independent MP.
The news of his arrest sent shock waves through Parliament Hill, where the MP enjoyed a good reputation.