The Quebec Liberal Party is again on the backfoot.
The embattled party is clarifying that bank transfers of exactly $1,000 each were sent to certain party employees who had contributed the most volunteer hours to Pablo Rodriguez’s leadership campaign.
This explanation follows the latest revelation by the Journal de Montréal that Élections Québec is looking into transfers of $1,000 to 14 people who helped Rodriguez become party leader.
One of those 14 people is Geneviève Hinse, the former chief of staff of now expelled Liberal caucus member Marwah Rizqy.
The transfer figures are available in an expense report of Rodriguez’s winning campaign.
“At the end of the leadership race, once all suppliers had been paid and expense accounts reimbursed, the campaign was left with a surplus,” explained Rodriguez’s financial representative Jean-Claude Lévesque in a statement.
“The campaign management team wanted to transfer this balance to the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), but after checking with the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ), the rules did not allow it.
“The decision was therefore made to issue bank transfers of $1,000 to those who had contributed the most volunteer hours to the campaign. As stipulated by the rules, these individuals will each receive a T4A slip and will be required to declare this amount as income on their next tax return.”
Lévesque maintains Rodriguez’s leadership campaign “was conducted in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.”
How we got here
Hinse’s dismissal by Rizqy in mid-November triggered weeks of controversy, confusion, allegations, investigations and more within the ranks of the Quebec Liberal Party — a crisis that does not seem to be abating.
Rodriguez says Rizqy, his former parliamentary leader, did not consult with him about the decision to fire Hinse and has not explained her reasons. He said a lack of loyalty to him and the party is the reason Rizqy’s expulsion from caucus.
The latest twist in the saga: Rodriguez announced last week he had expelled Laval MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier from his caucus because she is under investigation. Quebec’s ethics commissioner is probing whether she used resources from her constituency office for partisan purposes during this year’s Liberal leadership race, which Rodriguez won in June.
The Liberals are also facing allegations of possible vote-buying during the leadership race. Last month, Le Journal de Montréal published text messages suggesting some party members who voted for Rodriguez could have received cash rewards. Montreal radio station 98.5 FM named Lakhoyan Olivier as one of the two people behind those text messages, but she has denied that claim and has sent a legal letter to station owner Cogeco.
It’s unclear whether the firing of Rizqy’s chief of staff and the vote-buying allegations are connected.
Rodriguez has asked a retired judge to investigate the allegations, and says anyone involved in such activity will be kicked out of the party. Quebec’s anticorruption police, UPAC, have also said they are looking into the controversy.
The crisis for the Liberals comes as the party tries to regain the support of Quebec voters, particularly francophones outside Montreal, ahead of next year’s election. With the governing Coalition Avenir Québec polling badly, the Liberals are positioning themselves as the alternative to the Parti Québécois, which is promising a referendum on independence by 2030.
But a recent Léger/Québecor poll showed the Liberals losing ground as the controversy drags on. The survey put the Liberals at 21 per cent, compared to 39 per cent for the PQ.
On Friday, the Quebec government tabled new legislation to ban vote-buying in leadership and nomination races. To the surprise of many lawmakers, Elections Quebec recently revealed that the province’s Elections Act does not prohibit people from making donations in exchange for votes in those campaigns.
The bill, which has the support of the opposition parties, includes fines of up to $10,000 for a first offence and up to $30,000 for repeat offences within 10 years.
–With files from The Canadian Press
