The lady at the center of a controversial advertisement for the Coalition Avenir Québec that has been widely broadcast in recent days had refused to be compensated, the party defends itself after being the target of accusations of financial abuse.
Posted at 12:16 p.m.
In a long message posted on Facebook on Sunday, Prime Minister François Legault’s party returned to the context of the production of this advertisement, which has been broadcast on many platforms for a few weeks.
This release follows the publication, in the pages of the daily The dutyof a letter of opinion from the daughter of the nearly 80-year-old lady, Chantal Landry, to the effect that her mother would not have received sufficient financial compensation for her participation in this advertisement, the broadcast of which is now finished.
“I am disappointed that in 2022, in a seemingly egalitarian province, a government [de surcroît] takes advantage of a poor, uneducated woman by tricking her into believing that $250 is the right price to use this ‘planned’ video for publicity,” she wrote.
The CAQ defends itself
However, contrary to what Chantal Landry claims in her letter, her mother would not have received $250, but rather $500 for her participation in the advertisement, says the executive director of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), Brigitte Legault , Monday.
“Until the publication of her open letter, the Lady’s daughter, Ms.me Landry, never tried to contact us to share his point of view. We were surprised and saddened by reading this text. If the Lady shows any discomfort, we will find a solution that will be satisfactory for her and her family,” she said.
The lady in question had participated in a “vox pop” type advertisement broadcast by the CAQ during the last election campaign, in 2018. She had then accepted an amount of $100 offered to all participants.
“This time, after accepting a new interview, she refused to be compensated. However, our production team insisted on paying him a symbolic amount of $250 for each video that would eventually be released. She finally accepted and will have received $ 500 in all, ”continues Brigitte Legault.
Moreover, the latter affirms that it “was always clear that the interview would be used in publicity” and that the lady had spoken “frankly, with her heart and her usual verve”.
The CAQ recalls that it paid in full for the production of this advertisement.