(Quebec) The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) files a complaint with the Ethics and Professional Conduct Commissioner after having been mistakenly informed of the holding of a CAQ training on “media planning and buying” with a view to future elections. According to the Liberals, this is “partisan training” paid for with public funds.
On Thursday, the constituency office staff of the 125 National Assembly Members received by email the content of a training course intended for CAQ constituency teams only. The information was sent by an employee of the Office of the Chief Government Whip.
The document that Press was able to consult outlines the rules to be followed for placing advertising in the electoral context in order to “reach out to voters” and “facilitate their participation in the poll”.
It also explains how to use the platform that centralizes information from Caquist voters, called the “Coalist”. The training, in the form of a webinar, was presented on Wednesday by two party employees.
The snag in the eyes of the Liberals is that the operation detailed in the document “leaves a partisan role attributed to county office staff”, as well as resources used by the Office of the Chief Government Whip. We also note that each page is adorned with the logo of the National Assembly.
“It’s a presentation from A to Z that is partisan. It is the preparation of the next electoral campaign, denounces the liberal deputy, Marc Tanguay.
“There are very clear rules. It is known in all the county offices: you cannot be partisan with the National Assembly. […] The resources are there to serve the people and not to serve the party, ”he argued in an interview.
The member for LaFontaine on Friday asked the Ethics Commissioner, Ariane Mignolet, to investigate. The Liberals believe that the CAQ’s approach violates article 36 of the Code of ethics and professional conduct of the members of the National Assembly, which stipulates that “the deputy uses the property of the State, including the property leased by the State, as well as the services made available to it by the State and allow their use for activities related to the exercise of its office. ”
“We want the commissioner to check, to investigate because if it had not been for this error, we would never have known,” added Mr. Tanguay.
In addition, the Liberals point out that the document asks constituency teams to submit their advertising plan before February 15. An element that ticks the political formation. “My first instinct is that it’s early for a campaign in the fall,” points out Mr. Tanguay.
According to him, this suggests that “it is clearly an option” for the government to call the general elections before October 3. At the microphone of Paul Arcand, on October 25, the Prime Minister assured, however, that he did not intend to send Quebecers to the polls earlier than expected. “We chose in Quebec to have fixed date elections and it will be October 3, 2022, we will not touch that,” he told FM 98.5.
Not “partisan”, assures the CAQ
At the Office of the Chief Government Whip, we assure for its part that it was not “a partisan training”, but rather “a training on good practices concerning media placement for our teams in constituency. to make sure all the rules are followed ”.
“As an election year approaches, we wanted to remind everyone of the differences between the work and communications of our elected officials and what is partisan,” says on the contrary the press secretary of the parliamentary wing, Marc Danis. in a statement sent by email to Press.
It is admitted, however, that an error occurred when sending information to constituency offices.