Its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, announced Friday afternoon in Tadoussac the exclusion of two candidates because of anti-Muslim remarks published on social networks, in 2015 and 2016.
They are Pierre Vanier, in the riding of Rousseau, and his spouse Catherine Provost, in that of L’Assomption. They are excluded from the team of candidates of the Parti Québécois, and in no case they [ne] may be part of the Parti Québécois caucus in the event of an election
decided the chef.
Earlier this morning, Mr Vanier had been suspended by his boss after Facebook posts resurfaced, time to listen to it
and of turn on the light
on these statements. let me talk to him
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon had asked the journalists, in a scrum of the press, when he got off the Matane-Godbout ferry, on the North Shore.
It was therefore at the end of this conversation with his candidate that the PQ leader chose to trace a line
although Mr. Vanier apologize and deeply regret
just like his spouse, whose publications resurfaced in a second time.Provost was crying. It was very, very emotional”,”text”:”MmeProvost was crying. It was very, very emotional”}}”>Madame Provost was crying. It was very, very emotionalsaid Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
« We cannot accept this kind of statement from the Parti Québécois. »
A chef a fury
but helpless
Mr. Vanier’s remarks resurfaced Friday on the website of the Montreal Journalbut the publications in question were still on Facebook when Radio-Canada took an interest in this affair.
In 2015, he wrote for example: Give a Muslim a Hammer, He’ll Kill Democracy
.
That year, as well as the following year, Mr. Vanier also implied that women wearing the veil were not intelligent and claimed that English
wanted exterminate
the Quebecois.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said he read the publications on Friday morning. And, by his own admission, these statements put him a fury
.
However, his options seem limited since the two candidates refuse to withdraw. I don’t have the power as leader to withdraw a candidacy. It is up to the candidate to take [les mesures]
said the PQ leader.
What Elections Quebec confirms: We have not received written confirmation of withdrawal of candidacy for [c]are candidates
writes spokesperson Gabriel Sauvé-Lesiège in an email to Radio-Canada.
Election lawdoes not provide a mechanism for disaffiliating from a political party”,”text”:”Only a candidate can withdraw his candidacy. She may do so at any time before the end of the poll. Moreover, the Electoral Law does not provide a mechanism for disaffiliating from a political party””>Only a candidate can withdraw his candidacy. She may do so at any time before the end of the poll. Furthermore, the Elections Act does not provide for a mechanism for disaffiliating from a political party.
adds Mr. Sauvé-Lesiège.
The names of Pierre Vanier and Catherine Provost will therefore appear on the ballots on Monday, next to the Parti Québécois logo. It’s up to the people to choose
argues the chef.
« They argue that they ran a campaign that, as a whole, deserves to be judged on something other than a Facebook post from 2015. I understand that, but I make the decision to exclude them from our crew. »
But concretely, this refusal to withdraw from the two candidates will still allow the PQ to collect the votes that will be given to them, as well as the funding attached to them, since the State pays $1.71 per vote to the party that receives it.
In other words, each elector who votes for Pierre Vanier or Catherine Provost will bring $1.71 to the PQ. In 2018, some 7,000 people voted for the Parti Québécois in Rousseau, and 4,600 in L’Assomption, which represents nearly $20,000.
However, the PQ leader’s team confirmed to Radio-Canada that the party is committed not to touch the money that will be generated by these votes. And if Elections Quebec is ever obliged to give him this sum, the party undertakes to give it back in one way or another, to a charity for example.
Not a real decision
retort QS
So far, only one candidate from a party represented in Parliament has withdrawn from the race. It is Marie-Eve Rancourtof Quebec solidaire (QS), who chose to withdraw after being filmed without her knowledge replacing a PQ leaflet with hers in the mailbox of a voter from Camille-Laurin, in Montreal.
Moreover, the co-spokesperson of QSGabriel Nadeau-Dubois, was unimpressed by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s leadership regarding the exclusion of his two candidates. There are many questions that are still unanswered
he dropped.St-Pierre Plamondon says he doesn’t want those people on his team, but he’s still going to get their votes.”,”text”:”Mr.St-Pierre Plamondon says he doesn’t want those people there in his team, but he will still collect their votes.”}}”>Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon says he does not want these people on his team, but he will still collect their votes.
« Mr. St-Pierre-Plamondon has not made a real decision. […] Leadership is clearly saying who you want on your team and who you don’t want on your team. Saying: “I don’t want them, but I’m taking their votes” is incoherent. »
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois is against the fact that what appears to be a formality could in fact have important consequences. To decide between the opposition groups in the National Assembly, the first criterion is that of the number of deputies, but the percentage of votes, the number of votes cast, also counts.
The CAQ well in the saddle in Rousseau and L’Assomption
Located in the Lanaudière region, the electoral division of Rousseau covers the territories of the municipalities of Saint-Alexis, Saint-Calixte, Saint-Esprit, Saint-Jacques, Sainte-Julienne, Saint-Liguori, Saint-Lin–Laurentides, Sainte-Marie-Salomé, Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan and Saint-Roch-Ouest.
Since 2018, the riding has been represented in the National Assembly by outgoing MP Louis-Charles Thouin, of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), and, according to the projections of the Qc125 site, nothing indicates that it is about to tip over.
Same scenario on the side of L’Assomption, which is in fact the neighboring riding and, above all, that of François Legault. The outgoing Prime Minister is well in the saddle there, again according to the projections of Qc125.
Pierre Vanier is not particularly known. We learn in particular on the website of the PQ that he is a native of Montreal and that he is the father of four children; that until recently he was a strategic advisor to the City of Saint-Lin–Laurentides; and that he was already a political adviser to Rousseau’s former PQ MP Nicolas Marceau.
His spouse, Catherine Provost, also worked for Nicolas Marceau, as a political attaché. According to the website of PQshe is a native of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and has a long track record of commitment and volunteering in the field of education.
The members of the couple were also the subject of a television report last month, TVA having taken an interest in them since they were candidates for the same party in two neighboring constituencies.
