(Quebec) Québec solidaire (QS) demands a formal apology from a member of Prime Minister François Legault’s close guard and does not rule out suing him for defamation.
In a publication entitled “Online attacks by François Legault’s team: enough is enough”, the parliamentary leader of QS, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, accuses the CAQ of having tarnished the reputation of MP Vincent Marissal.
“Since the outbreak of the CAQ political financing scandals, my colleague Vincent Marissal […] is being targeted by increasingly aggressive attacks from the government,” he writes.
Last Friday, Mr. Marissal said in an open letter that Mr. Legault had encountered him in the corridors of the National Assembly and called him a “national mud thrower”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson, Ewan Sauves, reacted by accusing Mr. Marissal of having run in politics “on the basis of a lie”, referring to the fact that he had denied having flirted with the Liberal Party from Canada.
Employees of the CAQ’s political offices continued the offensive on social networks all weekend, with one high-ranking officer even accusing Mr. Marissal of having “cut corners” when he was a journalist.
“The author of this tweet, Manuel Dionne, […] is the Prime Minister’s director of media relations. This kind of maneuver has a name. It’s smearing,” Mr. Nadeau-Dubois was indignant.
“This is not only an attack on Vincent’s integrity and professional reputation, […] it is also an indirect threat to all opposition MPs: be careful […] otherwise, we will make you pay for it.
“Manuel Dionne must formally withdraw his comments and apologize to Vincent. It’s the bare minimum. We are evaluating what happens next and nothing is excluded at this stage,” added the supportive leader.
Mr. Dionne had not yet responded to questions from The Canadian Press on Monday evening.
“Aggressive partisanship”
Earlier Monday, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon denounced the “aggressive partisanship” of the CAQ. “It comes from an unhealthy political will,” he declared at a press briefing in Montreal.
PHOTO CHRISTINNE MUSCHI, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (center)
“It’s part of the political game,” replied Mr. Sauves, Monday afternoon, in a message sent to The Canadian Press. Office employees […] are engaged citizens. This is also democracy. »
“Now we realize that this is not the tone we want to give to the discussions. The goal is to set the record straight. We advocate a respectful tone,” he added.
Last Thursday, the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, addressed PQ MP Pascal Bérubé in a corridor of parliament, in front of the cameras.
Elle lui a rappelé qu’il avait lui aussi participé à un cocktail de financement lorsqu’il était ministre du Tourisme ; M. Bérubé lui a demandé si elle voulait qu’il parle de ses 42 cocktails de financement à elle.
Mme Guilbault s’apprêtait alors à tenir un point de presse pour répondre au couple endeuillé qui disait avoir dû verser 200 $ à la CAQ pour la rencontrer. L’histoire plongeait la CAQ dans l’embarras.
« Les récentes péripéties à l’Assemblée nationale soulignent un début de session chaotique pour François Legault », a déploré lundi le leader parlementaire du Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ), Monsef Derraji.
« La crise du logement et la pénurie de main-d’œuvre exigent une action urgente. […] It is time for the government […] regains the control necessary to respond effectively to these challenges,” he added.
The CAQ in turmoil
The CAQ has been in turmoil since January 23 due to controversies over its fundraising methods.
The Canadian Press revealed messages from CAQ MPs who invited municipal elected officials to fundraising cocktails, suggesting that this would be an opportunity to advance issues.
Two CAQ elected officials, Sylvain Lévesque and Louis-Charles Thouin, are the target of an investigation by the Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly.
The Election Act provides that any citizen can contribute up to $100 per year to a political party, but without compensation.
The Canadian Press also learned that nearly half of the mayors, or 503 out of 1,138, have contributed to financing the CAQ since the 2021 municipal elections, for a total of nearly $100,000.
Le Soleil had also revealed that Mme Guilbault and his colleague at the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, were by far the most popular ministers invited to CAQ fundraising cocktails.
Incidentally, these are two ministries which award a lot of subsidies, the Parti Québécois (PQ) then pointed out.
QS accused the CAQ of having set up a financing “stratagem,” while the PQ mentioned a “systemic” financing method.
In recent months, the CAQ has seen its support plummet in the polls.
François Legault’s party would now obtain 25% of voting intentions, compared to 32% for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon’s PQ, according to the most recent Léger poll.