Longtime Parti Québécois (PQ) MNA Guy Leclair is still a candidate in the riding of Beauharnois even though he’s facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol for the second time.
PQ Leader Jean-François Lisée is defending the incumbent although he’s been calling for the resignation of Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) candidate, Quebec City region incumbent MNA, Eric Caire.
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This is not the first time Leclair has been charged with drinking and driving. In 2013, he pleaded guilty after an incident that happened in 2011, while he was an MNA (Leclair was first elected to the National Assembly in 2008).
On Tuesday, police charged Leclair with driving under the influence after having pulled him over and arrested him in July.
In a written statement to media, Leclair said, ‘’I do not deny that I was arrested in the night of July 13, 2018. However, in no way did I break the law. Moreover, I did not refuse an alcohol test. Twice, I obeyed the demands of the police officers to submit to their test.’’
On Wednesday, while campaigning in Rimouski, Lisée said he was made aware of the original arrest in July on Aug. 24, but that he did not say anything publicly until official police charges were made on Tuesday.
Lisée’s decision to keep Leclair as a candidate is raising some eyebrows.
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In recent past, Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard forced MNAs Gerry Sklavounos and Pierre Paradis out of his caucus when learning of criminal investigations involving them. However, Lisée said this isn’t an option during an election campaign.
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However, Wednesday afternoon Lisee changed his mind — he said that if elected, Leclair would sit as an independent until his name is cleared. This is in clear contrast to his morning’s answer: when asked what he would do if the court eventually found Leclair guilty, Lisee replied, “We’ll cross that bridge when we see it.”
For weeks, Lisée has been calling for his political opponent, CAQ Leader Francois Legault, to oust incumbent candidate in La Peltrie, Eric Caire from that party. The ethics commissioner found that Caire was in a potential conflict of interest when he accepted a $55,000 loan from a mayor in his riding.
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Legault has said that he is not kicking Caire out of the party, but on Tuesday he did turf another candidate, Stéphane Laroche in the riding of Saint-Jean. The party says Laroche, a bar owner knowingly allowed minors into his establishment and paid women employees less than men.
‘’It’s first a question of telling me the truth. I wasn’t happy yesterday learning stuff through journalists. It’s a question of judgment. There’s no law that can prevent bad judgment,’’ Legault said.
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