(Quebec) In a long speech Friday in Quebec where he recounted his first election “at 5 years old at daycare”, quoted Coluche, jokingly proposed to sell a membership card to a journalist, the candidate for leadership of the Party Quebec Liberal (PLQ) Denis Coderre presented the broad outlines of his program.
Posted at 10:16 a.m.
Updated at 1:27 p.m.
“The other candidates, you will never see me speaking against them, but it’s a good thing, I’m the only one capable of governing,” said the former mayor of Montreal, who claims to have resolved his problems with the tax authorities.
Mr. Coderre went to the PLQ offices in the capital to officially submit his candidacy. The financially troubled politician managed to deposit the $20,000 needed for now, half of the total amount the party is asking of its leadership candidates. The rest must be provided by April 11, if Mr. Coderre’s candidacy is accepted.
His ten-point program notably promises a third link to Quebec, the relaunch of the GNL Quebec project and the nationalization of water.
“What the Americans want is not our oil, it’s our water. They are siphoning off our great lakes,” said Mr. Coderre.
If we are capable of managing wine with the SAQ, we are capable of managing wine with the SEQ. We are going to nationalize water for bottling and sanitation purposes.
Denis Coderre
Whoever wants to run in Bellechasse in the next elections has also given unconditional support for a new bridge between Quebec and Lévis. “Mothers and fathers who live in the suburbs have the right to go to work in complete peace of mind. »
As for the relaunch of GNL Québec, this project for processing and transporting liquefied gas to Europe, Mr. Coderre believes that the people of Saguenay want it.
Threats of prosecution against Revenu Québec
While he had much to say about his proposals, Mr. Coderre was not able to say how many membership cards he had sold, or whether support in the Liberal caucus would soon be announced.
“I’m not here to give figures,” he replied to a journalist who asked him to quantify his progress, before inviting him to become a member. “It’s going to cost you five piastres!” »
-Remember that the PLQ is asking its leadership candidates to enlist 350 new members.
Mr. Coderre’s financial situation remains unclear, but the man claims to have resolved his problems with the tax authorities. Several media outlets have reported in recent months that Denis Coderre owes more than $130,000 in taxes at the provincial level. Added to this was a debt of more than $266,000 to the Canada Revenue Agency.
The Party “told me that if I wanted to run, I would have to sort out my affairs. I want to announce to you today that I have a global agreement with Revenu Québec and Revenue Canada (Canada Revenue Agency),” assured Mr. Coderre.
However, this is not a receipt. The committee set up by the PLQ to oversee the leadership race now has seven days to “judge Mr. Coderre’s candidacy admissible or not,” said Patrick Huot, general director of the PLQ.
Denis Coderre also threatens to sue Revenu Québec. He announced Friday that his lawyer was drafting a formal notice.
The 61-year-old “finds it extremely strange” that the Montreal Journal published an article on August 22 on the legal mortgage placed by Revenu Québec on his house. He indicates that he was only informed of this mortgage on September 5.
“It’s not normal for a journalist to inform me that I had a legal mortgage, I find that unacceptable,” he said.
He even wonders if people in the state apparatus might not have leaked the information to harm him. “I want to know if representatives of Quebec caused harm to my candidacy. That doesn’t make any sense. »
The man once again attributed his troubles with the taxman to a difficult personal situation. “It’s not my fault I had a stroke and a divorce. »
The election of the new leader will take place during a congress to be held on June 14.
With The Canadian Press
