On the sidelines of submitting his candidacy, Mr. Coderre, whose unpaid taxes have made headlines in recent months, announced that he had mandated a lawyer to prepare a formal notice against Revenu Québec.
The former federal and municipal elected official criticizes Revenu Québec for having disseminated information on his tax file, seeking “to harm him excessively and unreasonably”.
“Is it normal for me to learn from a journalist that there is a legal mortgage on my house?,” asked Mr. Coderre. It doesn’t make any sense.”
He judges that Revenu Québec lacked “decency and dignity” in the case, suggesting that its tax file would have been leaked to the media by members of the government or senior officials.
Denis Coderre did not want to say what could make him give up pursuing the provincial agency. “But right now the way I have been treated is unacceptable. […] I have rights like everyone else.”
Furthermore, Denis Coderre claims to have concluded “a comprehensive agreement” with provincial and federal agencies to resolve his tax problems and pay his debts of approximately $400,000.
Among other things, he plans to obtain this sum through the sale of his Montreal house, still on the market.
The candidate for leadership of the PLQ, however, confirms that he has not obtained a receipt from the revenue agencies. “But I can tell you today that everything I have to do at Revenu Québec and Revenue Canada is secure. So, there is no problem on that side.”
Soon the green light
Now that he judges that his situation is regularized, Denis Coderre officially believes he can enter the arena to lead the PLQ.
The “green light committee”, which examines all candidates for party leadership, will examine the case of the former mayor of Montreal over the next week.
When he has obtained the “ok” from the party authorities, Mr. Coderre will obtain the list of party members, explained the general director of the PLQ, Patrick Huot, who presents everything as a formality.
-Denis Coderre believes he is the only candidate for leadership of the PLQ who is able to govern Quebec. (Frédéric Matte/Le Soleil)
His candidacy now officially submitted, Mr. Coderre has until April 11 to collect some $40,000 in donations and have his candidacy file signed by 750 members, including 250 “new members”, who must come from at least 70 constituencies and 12 regions.
On Monday, former federal minister Pablo Rodriguez and the former president of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce, Charles Milliard, both officially launched their campaigns.
Matanais tax specialist Marc Bélanger and Beauceron farmer and economist Mario Roy, two lesser-known potential candidates, have not yet officially launched their campaign.
The new leader of the Quebec Liberal Party will be named on June 14.
Water, the third link and homelessness
In addition to his complicated relationship with the tax authorities, Denis Coderre took advantage of the submission of his candidacy to present the main ideas at the center of his campaign.
Using formulas and expressions, ranging from quotes from Coluche to What you see is what you getthe aspiring Liberal leader presented several ideas. For example, using water as an economic weapon and “cleaning up” the public sector.
Mr. Coderre also repeated himself for the third link and against the tramway, in favor of the GNL Québec project in Saguenay and for the complete abolition of Bill 96.
He also argued that a Coderre government would restore CLSCs open 24/7 and implement a feeding program in schools.
Finally, it would give cities the right to negotiate directly with Ottawa and transfer certain responsibilities to them regarding public health and homelessness.
