MONTREAL- Green Party leader Elizabeth May put on a brave face at a news conference Friday.
She showed no emotion, but May admits this week has not been very easy for her.
“This has clearly been the most difficult decision and the most difficult circumstances we’ve faced”, May told reporters.
Holding hands, May stood beside former NHL tough guy Georges Laraque as he announced he’s stepping down as deputy leader of the federal party.
READ MORE: Laraque resigns from Green Party to face fraud charges
Laraque says he is temporarily leaving the party and will no longer run for the vacant MP position in the east-end Montreal riding of Bourassa.
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“It’s hard emotionally”, Laraque says.
“All I know I did not commit any fraud, I don’t have any fraud to make money, I made enough in my career. I claim my innocence”.
Prosecutors at the Longueuil Courthouse filed five charges against Laraque this week.
According to police, the 36-year-old defrauded a former business partner out of thousands of dollars.
Some of the crimes date back to November 2009 when he was a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
Many are questioning if the Green Party made the right decision to allow Laraque to run for office.
Last January, it was widely reported that Laraque’s Brossard home was raided by police.
The Green Party announced Laraque as its candidate in Bourassa six months later.
Laraque says he had no idea he was ever under criminal investigation.
“I thought it would just be civil court, a civil lawsuit, because it’s between partners”, Laraque says.
Georges Laraque will be formally arraigned in court next month.
He says if the criminal charges against him are dropped, he’ll put his political skates back on and re-enter the race.
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