The candidacy of former CAQ candidate Caroline St-Hilaire for the position of administrator of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) proposed by the Legault government is a case of partisan appointment worthy of another era, denounce Québec solidaire and the Quebec Liberal Party.
• Read also: The potential appointment of Caroline St-Hilaire as a delegate in Barcelona is disturbing
Our Parliamentary Office has obtained confirmation that the choice of Quebec to fill the position of number two of the OIF stopped on the ex-mayor of Longueuil, as Le Devoir first reported on Tuesday.
Photo archives, QMI AGENCY (ANDRÉANNE LEMIRE)
The CAQ star candidate defeated in the most recent provincial election in Sherbrooke, Caroline St-Hilaire.
Another candidacy, proposed by the Trudeau government, would also be in the running.
On January 25, Le Journal reported that the appointment of Mme St-Hilaire to the position of Quebec delegate general in Barcelona was seriously considered.
In an exchange of text messages, the main concerned had retorted that she had “nothing to confirm or deny”. This hypothesis had been strongly denounced by the opposition parties.
Even if this time it is a candidacy, since the secretary general of the OIF Louise Mushikiwabo will have the last word, Marc Tanguay and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois remain outraged.
Tanguay and GND outraged
“At the time of Maurice Duplessis, we called it patronage, appointing people who are on the right side,” denounced the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, in a press briefing.
Mr. Tanguay criticizes Premier François Legault for doing precisely what he reproached the Liberals for when he was in opposition.
“He decried it loud and clear. And François Legault, today, is doing the same thing, ”said Mr. Tanguay, assuring that his party would no longer make partisan appointments if he were in power. “No, no, absolutely,” he swore.
The member for LaFontaine criticizes the CAQ for having concluded “a deal” with Ms. St-Hilaire so that she runs in Sherbrooke in the last election.
“You can’t say to star candidates, in quotes: Don’t worry, we’ll name you if you’re a defeated candidate. […] This is unacceptable in 2023”, considers Mr. Tanguay.
“What I see this morning is that at the CAQ we never really lose our elections. Even when we lose them, we win, ”commented in turn the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire.
“Mme St-Hilaire failed to dislodge Christine Labrie in Sherbrooke. It doesn’t matter, we still find him a good job, not even a year later. It is reminiscent of the great Liberal years,” added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
“It’s not a direct appointment, he acknowledged, but it is a form of partisan appointment nonetheless. This is proof that the CAQ is a party of transaction.
Pressed with questions on this subject in the corridors of Parliament, the Quebec Minister of International Relations, Martine Biron, stressed that the ultimate decision will rest with the Secretary General of the OIF.
“She is at home, Caroline St-Hilaire, she has not been named anywhere. I have not confirmed that kind of information. I didn’t deny it, but I didn’t confirm it, […] so, there is no partisan appointment, or the appearance of a partisan appointment anywhere,” defended Ms.me Biron.
The PQ notes “an improvement”
For his part, the PQ MP Joël Arseneau sees in the candidacy of Mme St-Hilaire at the OIF “an improvement” compared to the rumor of his appointment which sent him to Barcelona.
The PQ had also initiated a motion, a few weeks ago, for the National Assembly to ask the government “to prioritize competence in its appointments”, regardless of its membership of a political party.
“I think the motion paid off: rather than making a political appointment to find him a hideout, we decided instead to submit his candidacy,” said the MP for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine.