(Quebec) The jury trial of the MP for Rimouski, Harold LeBel, who is accused of sexual assault, will finally begin on November 7, for a period of three weeks.
Posted at 3:48 p.m.
The 59-year-old announced at the beginning of March that he would not be a candidate in the next elections on October 3.
“Deeply disappointed” to have to put an end to his political career, 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 has 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.
Back to Assembly
Last week, Mr. LeBel returned to the National Assembly to comment on the 2022-2023 budget speech tabled by the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard.
In his statement to the Blue Room, he took up the defense of vulnerable seniors and notably called for the holding of a summit intended to take better care of them, in a context of accelerated aging of the population.
Nothing prevents an elected member from sitting in the National Assembly even if he is the subject of criminal charges.
Until the end of the parliamentary session, on June 10, Mr. LeBel will be entitled to three questions and one statement in the House per cycle of 10 sittings.