MONTREAL – The Parti Quebecois has come under fire for featuring France Charbonneau, the head of Quebec’s corruption inquiry, in an ad used to attack the integrity of the Liberals.
The ad on the party’s Twitter page Thursday targets the Liberals and draws attention to the number of times its current crop of candidates voted in the legislature against holding a corruption probe.
“Nothing has changed at the PLQ,” reads the ad, which features photos of incumbent Liberal candidates.
It also cites the number 358, which the PQ says indicates how many times they voted against holding an inquiry.
Also prominently displayed is a photo of Justice France Charbonneau, the judge who heads the corruption commission and who shut down her inquiry because of the campaign.
Just two weeks ago, the commission insisted it wanted to be politically neutral and that it preferred to stay away from the political arena.
“Elections are the basis of democracy and the commission does not wish to influence voters one way or another,” the inquiry said in a statement March 5.
It decided, therefore, to adjourn hearings until the day after the April 7 election rather than tackle sensitive subjects such as political party financing and contracts involving the provincial Transport Department.
READ MORE: Quebec gears up for elections April 7
Inquiry spokesperson Richard Bourdon reiterated Thursday the inquiry wants to stay away from politics, but he could not say immediately if Charbonneau took issue with the advertisement or if the inquiry would seek a retraction.
The ad coincided with the PQ’s move to attack the Liberals on the issue of integrity. The PQ has lost support in recent polls and the integrity issue was central to its 2012 election win.
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During a news conference on Thursday, PQ candidate Bertrand St-Arnaud enumerated the scandals under the previous Liberal government and warned that any Charbonneau Commission recommendations would be shelved under the Liberals.
After much hesitation and under intense pressure, then-Liberal premier Jean Charest created the Charbonneau Commission in October 2011.
“I am sure that Quebecers do not want to go back to those dark years,” said St-Arnaud, the outgoing justice minister.
The commission is expected to table a final report by April 2015.
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