Splattered in turn by a case of stolen leaflets, the Parti Québécois “acted quickly” and sent a “very clear” message that this behavior was not tolerated by the formation by dismissing the suspected volunteer, assures its leader, Paul St. -Pierre Plamondon.
The incumbent Caquist MP for Masson, Mathieu Lemay, had filed a complaint with the police concerning the theft of 275 promotional brochures for his training by PQ volunteers, revealed The Press tuesday.
As a result of chance, the PQ caravan had already planned a passage in the riding located in Lanaudière, Tuesday morning. The PQ candidate, Stéphane Handfield, explained that his organization had cut ties with the volunteer as soon as he became aware of the allegations, even if the person concerned would have denied having committed the act.
“He denied it,” says Mr. Handfield. He even felt insulted that we could think that he had made this gesture. Despite everything, I asked my team, this day of September 21, you dismiss this volunteer. »
At his side, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon specified that the decision had been taken by the candidate before the affair was publicized.
On Monday, the Québec solidaire candidate in the riding of Camille-Laurin, Marie-Ève Rancourt, was forced to withdraw from the race after a compromising video was posted on social networks where we see her remove a Parti Québécois (PQ) advertisement. Camille-Laurin is the riding where Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon is running.
Asked about the video on Monday, the leader of the PQ called the gesture “undemocratic” and said that no one in the PQ had adopted this practice, “to his knowledge”.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon reiterates that he was not aware of what had happened in Masson, nor of any other similar case. For him, even if the gesture is unacceptable, there is a difference when it is committed by a candidate or by a volunteer.
He stressed that his formation could count on nearly “2000, 3000 volunteers” distributed in 125 constituencies. These are not subject to a recruitment process. “When there are volunteers who do something unacceptable, it’s proactivity that counts. »
At the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), they say they have accepted the apologies for the “deplorable” and “undemocratic” gesture. “We now accept the apologies of the candidate and we are satisfied that the volunteer was thanked by the organization following these gestures, answers the spokesperson for the CAQ for the Lanaudière region, Rosalie Tremblay-Cloutier. The complaint will be withdrawn. The case is now closed for us. »