Paradis 95 per cent recovered, source says
While MNA Pierre Paradis is not accepting media requests at this time, Hardy Craft, a longtime friend of his and President of the Quebec Liberal Party Brome-missisquoi Riding Association, said he believes Paradis is close to a full recovery.
“He’s 95 per cent; that’s my opinion,” Craft said, “He would like to be 100.”
Craft added that Paradis was expected to get the green light from his doctor to return to the National Assembly this week, but a recurrence of headaches recently has postponed the plan.
“We were hoping this would be a one or two month thing,” commented Craft.
Paradis has been in convalescence since the end of January, 2017 following a head injury.
Original media reports suggested Paradis, a passionate equestrian, had hit his head during a fall from a horse.
Craft set the record straight, explaining that it was actually a trailer door that hit Paradis in the head as it swung open.
While the diagnosis following the trauma was primarily neurological, Craft said doctors are now exploring the possibility that the injury could have affected Paradis’ first vertebrae.
“This has been a real tough one for him,” commented Craft, explaining that Paradis has always been a very hands-on MNA.
“Our only concern is his health,” Craft said.
The timing of Paradis’ medical leave coincided with being under fire from the UPA (union des producteurs agricoles) because of the Programme de crédit de taxes foncières agricoles, the provincial regulation that calculates the
amount of tax farmers pay on their land and farm buildings.
It also aligned with a Sûreté du Québec (SQ) investigation launched regarding allegations of sexual misconduct. As soon as the allegations were made, Paradis was removed from cabinet and suspended from the Liberal caucus.
He is currently listed as Independent on the National Assembly’s official website.
In June of 2017, Quebec's Crown prosecutor's office decided not to lay any charges against Paradis.
Laurent Lessard, who took over Paradis’ position as Quebec Minister of Agriculture, rescinded the contentious taxation bill that had farmers across the province threatening to block access to their land to snowmobilers.
Craft said that while Paradis isn’t currently in the Liberal caucus, he is still a member of the Liberal party.
Whether or not he will be accepted back into the Liberal caucus depends on the will of the sitting members.
“When the time comes, they will vote on it,” Craft said.
“I can think of no reason at all that he couldn’t be accepted back into the Liberal caucus,” Craft said, “he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
According to Craft, the allegation against Paradis was false. “He was cleared of all that,” commented Craft.
Ultimately, the decision about Paradis’ political future depends on him, and he is currently not talking.
The Record has made several attempts to organize phone interviews and even send questions via email, none of which have been answered.
“When he’s healthy, he will decide,” Craft said.
In his absence, Paradis’ office has continued normal operations, contacting the MNA by phone or email when necessary to consult on important files.
According to Town of Brome Lake Mayor Richard Burcombe, the absence of the local MNA has been a disadvantage for the municipality.
“It is harder for us, for sure,” Burcombe said.
“We used to meet every spring,” he said, to discuss upcoming projects and lay out the priorities of the region along with other local mayors. “That didn’t happen,” he said.
“If we had a problem, we could talk to him personally,” Burcombe said.
He has continued as usual send grant applications and requests to Paradis’ office to get passed on. “They keep us up to date,” he said.