Another tile falls on the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ). The president of the Laval regional council, Denis Piché, is slamming the door because of the party’s decision to elect its next leader in 2025 and to exclude MP Frédéric Beauchemin.
The information, first reported by The Quebec Journalwas confirmed by The Canadian Press.
In his resignation letter, of which The Canadian Press obtained a copy, Mr. Piché affirms that the time when the PLQ had the capacity to assume its setbacks and its defeats is over “and has given way to a disconnection which persists and whose negative impacts are as numerous as they are serious.
He claims that the PLQ has “reached a breaking point”.
“I also want it as proof […] the recent decision of management to ignore the clear majority desire (80 to 90% depending on the authorities) of the representatives of the management board as well as the association presidents to hold a leadership race in the fall of 2024,” he wrote in his missive.
Tanguay defends the party’s choices
During its general council last weekend, the PLQ announced that the new leader would be elected in the spring of 2025. Internally, many criticized this decision, saying that an earlier race would have been preferable.
The interim Liberal leader, Marc Tanguay, did not seem shaken by Mr. Piché’s resignation. “It’s a personal choice,” he said at a press briefing Tuesday morning at the National Assembly.
Mr. Tanguay defended the party’s decision to elect the next Liberal leader in 2025. “We have decisions to make in the best interests of the party and the common denominator is that there absolutely must be a real leadership race,” he said.
In his letter, Denis Piché also denounces “cavalier behavior towards deputies who were the subject of hasty and summary judgments before being ostracized.”
Remember that the MP for Marguerite-Bourgeoys, Frédéric Beauchemin, was excluded following a complaint against him for psychological harassment.
The complaint was filed by the president of the party’s youth wing, Élyse Moisan. She alleges that she felt harassed, intimidated and threatened by Mr. Beauchemin’s team. The main person concerned has already affirmed that he had nothing to reproach himself for in this affair.
“I think the decision regarding Fred Beauchemin was the right one. It was taken to ensure the peace and confidentiality of the processes in progress,” defended Marc Tanguay.
Despite his exclusion, the deputy for Marguerite-Bourgeoys was present at his party’s general council. Frédéric Beauchemin is for the moment the only one to have demonstrated his interest in taking over from Dominique Anglade.