The leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, attacked the media on Saturday, accusing them of not having respected his privacy regarding the threats he and his family received.
The PQ leader confirmed Friday that he and his family were the subject of death threats and that a person was arrested by the Sûreté du Québec.
The cancellation of his presence at the general council of the Bloc Québécois, Saturday in Quebec, was then announced.
His speech and his press scrum were canceled, the PQ indicated in a press release Friday evening without further details.
In a publication on the social network Facebook, broadcast Saturday morning, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon deplored that journalists had questioned him about these threats, the existence of which was made public in a way he was unaware of. .
On death threats against me and respect for my private life
Yesterday, like all of last week, I tried to continue my work normally despite recent difficult events for my family and me. It was an important political week with a budget…
— Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (@PaulPlamondon) March 16, 2024
“The journalists present were informed by my team that I did not want to address the issue of the threats I received, because it was still very difficult for my family and I was not in a position to add anything it would be. They did the same, without regard to my situation,” he wrote, saying he became “very emotional” during his first response to the matter.
“We explicitly agreed with the journalists that only my second response where I managed to finish my sentences would be retained,” continued the PQ leader in his publication. I told them it was my private life and it was difficult enough as it was, they told me they understood. »
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said he was “disappointed” to see that this request was not respected, accusing certain journalists of having wanted to make their report “even more sensationalist” by posting images of him when he is withdrawn to regain his composure, so as to formulate a second response.
“I therefore do not believe that anyone at this press point had the obligation to expose to 9 million Quebecers the anguish that these threats may have caused us. It is a lack of sensitivity, of respect for my private life, a lack of ethics, but above all a great lack of humanity, which I did not believe was possible in politics, in Quebec,” we can read in the message from the leader of the PQ.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon concluded his publication by calling for “to take an avenue more respectful of the private sphere” of elected officials.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, greeted the PQ leader during his party’s general council, stressing that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon is a “courageous man”.
“He experienced a serious intrusion into his personal life, which affected his family. Cr… that I would become smart,” said Mr. Blanchet, referring to the threats that the PQ leader received.
“We must change our morals as a society, put an end to this slide towards the worst. Intimidation is the weapon of cowards. The insult is the argument of those who do not have one,” he added.
During the afternoon, Saturday, Bloc activists unanimously adopted a proposal stating that the party “shows its full solidarity and support” to Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, also expressed his support for the PQ leader in a publication on the social network X on Saturday.
“Threats have no place in politics. Period ! What lives [Paul St-Pierre Plamondon] unacceptable. This is a situation I have already found myself in with my partner. I’m thinking of him and his family,” he wrote.
Threats have no place in politics. Period! What lives @PaulPlamondon unacceptable. This is a situation I have already found myself in with my partner. I think of him and his family. The condition for a healthy democracy is respect.
— Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois (@GNadeauDubois) March 16, 2024