‘COUILLARD BROKE PROMISE’
MNA’s ouster is ugly side of politics
QUEBEC It was, as François Ouimet puts it, the day the ugly side of politics reared its head.
There he was, a man elected to office way back in 1994, a veteran who had slogged through the bleak years on the opposition benches, quietly going about the thankless task of being the backbencher for the riding of Marquette for almost 25 years.
He was never a cabinet minister and was not a big speaker, but despite the perilous nature of politics, Ouimet’s record was unblemished to the point he was named deputy Speaker of the House.
Nobody could question his loyalty to his party or devotion to public service. Around the legislature, Ouimet was considered a perfect gentleman well on his way to obtaining a new term in office.
This time, however, he would attain the coveted honorary title of the dean of the legislature.
The election campaign photos were taken, the date for his nomination meeting set for Wednesday of this week. Heck, the crusts had been cut off the sandwiches, and the coffee was brewing in the church basement.
Then came the fateful phone call from the Liberal party war room announcing the nomination meeting was cancelled. Despite the personal assurance from the premier at a meeting in May that he would be allowed to run again, Ouimet was told to clean out his locker.
The party brass argued it was time for renewal. Suddenly, at 58, Ouimet was too old.
The Liberals need Marquette for a rising Liberal star, who turns out to be former hockey player Enrico Ciccone, a man only 10 years younger than Ouimet and with zero political experience.
Ciccone does not live in the riding that includes the cities of Dorval and Île Dorval and the borough of Lachine. With Ouimet still licking his wounds, the party will announce Ciccone’s candidacy at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Emotional, often snap political departures are legion in these halls, but even his Liberal colleagues were shocked Wednesday to see such a genuinely nice guy as Ouimet put through the ringer.
“I dare say I hope what I read in the paper is not the way things happened,” allowed Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée on her way into a cabinet meeting.
“There’s a sad underbelly in politics,” added Robert Poëti, the minister for integrity in public procurement. “It’s a cruel business.”
By midday Wednesday, the time Ouimet called in the media to announce he had no choice but to leave politics, emotions had peaked. “I think I deserved better,” Ouimet said, brushing aside tears, his voice choking. “You know, you just feel hurt.
“Politics can be very noble. There are great moments where parties come together; people are looking for the greater good of the greatest number of people. And at times there is this ugly side of politics that rears its ugly little head.
“I will not hide the fact that the acts taken against me in the last days have been hurtful. The agreement (with the premier) was not respected, and that hurts.”
He didn’t mince words about Premier Philippe Couillard, either, touching off speculation this party bungle could rebound on the Liberal brain trust in the race to the Oct. 1 vote.
“He (Couillard) looked me in the eye, shook my hand, reiterated his confidence out loud saying, ‘Don’t you worry, I won’t doublecross you, I will sign your nomination papers. You have my word.’
The two spoke briefly one last time Wednesday.
“After I hung up the phone, I realized that his (Couillard’s) promise no longer held water,” Ouimet said. “I thought (being a Liberal) was all about doing politics differently. You know, this is old backroom stuff from the ’50s and ’60s.
“A lot of constituents wrote to me this morning ... and a lot of people feel there was a betrayal.”
Conspiracy theories about what really happened abounded Wednesday. Ouimet said one explanation for his ouster could be to make rival Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault look older.
With Ouimet gone, Legault inherits the title of legislature dean, a point the Liberals may add to their arsenal of campaign talking points to say the CAQ hardly incarnates renewal.
Preposterous, Couillard responded later at a separate news conference that rapidly veered into the Ouimet-Liberal train wreck.
Couillard appeared ready to take his lumps, praising Ouimet for his work. He said he had lots of respect and affection for him.
“There are moments in the life of a party leader which are extremely painful,” Couillard said. “Some decisions are very, very difficult to make because they involve people, people we know, that we work with.
“They are wounds you carry (as a leader) for a very long time.”
He insisted Ouimet was supposed to be the candidate as he promised in May, but the situation had evolved. The party now has more good new candidates than available ridings to park them in and needs Marquette.
Couillard said he can be trusted to keep a promise.
“My word is worth a lot,” Couillard said. “People who work beside me every day know I am a man of my word.”