(Laval) The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec made his mea culpa while attacking his opponents on Tuesday evening in front of many activists. Earlier in the day, he explained that his tenant was in fact a friend in financial difficulty whom he wanted to help. He admitted to having settled the outstanding property and school tax bills himself.
Posted at 9:26
Updated at 7:05 p.m.
“If we are the target of all the attacks, it is because we are the rising team, then quickly apart from that”, he launched in a partisan speech. Many activists, especially Anglophones, had gone to a restaurant in the riding of Chomedey to see Éric Duhaime in person.
“We have no lesson in ethics to receive and integrity to receive from a government that distributed 17 billion worth of contracts without calls for tenders,” he said, targeting the Coalition avenir Québec. “We have no lessons in ethics to receive from the Quebec Liberal Party, that would be the end of it! And it’s not Gabriel-I’m-not-paying-my-rent Nadeau-Dubois, either, who’s going to start lecturing us! »
The Conservative leader has been criticized by his political opponents for his various overdue accounts over the years: municipal taxes, school taxes, electricity account and bill for plumbing work.
“It’s not hard to present yourself as Premier of Quebec with all these revelations,” reacted the co-spokesperson for Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois earlier in the day. He invited the Conservative leader to “be transparent”.
The day before, the liberal leader Dominique Anglade had squarely questioned the candidacy of Éric Duhaime in the Quebec election. All these revelations, “it’s quite disqualifying” for Éric Duhaime, she reacted during a press scrum. “When I look at political leaders, I expect them to obey the law and pay their taxes. »
A friend in trouble
Éric Duhaime explained on Tuesday that he wanted to help a friend in difficulty by letting him live in a residence he owns without charging him rent. In return, he had to pay the property and school tax bills.
“I sent him the opinions, he first told the microphone of Paul Arcand, at 98.5 FM. He had all the stuff in hand to pay and he just didn’t have the money to do it. When I found out he hadn’t paid, I paid them. It’s not more complicated than that. »
He then repeated the same explanations when he was questioned by journalists at a press conference a few hours later.
This friend, whom he does not name, lives in his house on Moncton Avenue in the Montcalm district of Quebec City with his four children. He claimed the pair had entered into a lease for the first year of tenancy, but later changed the arrangement verbally.
“I told him to pay for the basic stuff: taxes, heating, internet and normal maintenance… cut the grass and take care of the ordinary business,” he said in his interview with Since you have to get up.
“He pays nothing. I said to myself: if at least he pays the taxes, ”he added a little later.
The school tax bill that he neglected to pay for more than two years is also associated with the same address. He again implied that his tenant failed to pay him. A bailiff had the mandate to recover the sums due. “Not only did I pay the taxes, I paid the interest, I paid the penalties,” he defended himself.
However, he acknowledged that as the owner of this house, he is ultimately responsible for the payment of property and school taxes. “For two years, I have been working a little a lot. I should have supervised it better than that and I should have gone to pay them before,” he said.
He claimed not to declare the income from his property in his tax return since they are negative. “If I said so, I would still make a loss and make money,” he said. In fact, I would make money on this business. I cannot declare it. »
Éric Duhaime maintained that the only way for him to make money with this property will be during the sale since it has appreciated in value.
He admitted that the rental agreement with his friend will have to be reviewed “in light of what has just happened”. “He has enough difficulties already. The last thing he needs is for me to add a layer to him, but I don’t want to stall someone who is down,” he said.
Called by a plumber
Éric Duhaime was also put on notice by a plumber for another bill that had not been fully paid. The news first reported by Radio-Canada was confirmed by the Conservative leader’s press secretary.
The Plomberie-Pro company claimed a sum of approximately $5,600 from him for work carried out in a residence on Bougainville Avenue in Quebec City, which he has since disposed of. The invoice should have been paid in February 2019, but had still not been paid in 2020.
The plumber sued in Small Claims Court, then reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr. Duhaime.
“Part of the work was correct, another in dispute,” said the Conservative leader’s press secretary, Cédric Lapointe. […] Mr. Duhaime and one of the directors of the company made an amicable agreement and the same contractor even carried out other work afterwards on Mr. Duhaime’s properties. »