Legault’s absence on the campaign trail noticed
Star candidates for Coalition Avenir Québec presented the party’s cannabis platform Wednesday, but their message was overshadowed by the absence of their leader.
The day after a new poll emerged showing the CAQ had lost the considerable lead they had held for nearly a year, François Legault was absent from the daily announcements and media sessions that party leaders normally attend on the campaign trail.
Asked why Mr. Legault did not attend a press conference held in the downtown hotel where the CAQ campaign team is staying, candidate Sonia Lebel, a prosecutor for the Charbonneau Commission, said they were out to show the strength of a party composed of professionals from a variety of backgrounds, and to reiterate their support for their leader.
“We are here today because we are part of a team. Mr. Legault has a team, and that’s what we wanted to emphasize today,” Lebel said. “It’s not a question of him being absent, it’s a question of the team showing up because we were there, on the field, working hard for the objectives that we all share.”
“This is a strong confirmation that when you talk about the CAQ, it’s not one person, it’s the team, and you have part of the team this morning,” said Ian Lafrenière, a former high-profile Montreal police spokesperson now running for the CAQ. “A strong leader has a strong team. This is not a oneman show. It’s not.”
His handlers said he was preparing for the third and final leaders’ TV debate on Thursday. Legault’s campaign schedule has been relatively light of late, often limited to one appearance a day. On Monday he was absent as well, following a disastrous weekend that highlighted repeated blunders on the immigration dossier that has been the tenet of his platform. His team said he was preparing for the Englishlanguage debate that day.
In contrast, Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard has been maintaining a busy schedule, including on debate days, and criss-crossing Quebec, while Legault has stayed close to Montreal.
Tuesday’s TVA-Léger poll of voter intentions showed the CAQ had dropped four points to 31 per cent in less than a week, while the Liberals had come up by one point, to 30 per cent. The Parti Québécois remained steady at 21 per cent and Québec Solidaire had risen three points, with 14 per cent saying they would vote for the left-leaning separatist party.
The number of undecided voters remains high, with 38 per cent saying they could still change their votes. Lebel said polls represent only a “snapshot in time,” and that the campaign was far from over.
“I choose to see the high number of undecided as an extremely positive one,” Lebel said. “For once Quebecers are reflecting and are not being taken for granted and will make a clear-headed choice. And I am convinced that on Oct. 1 they will make the right decision and trust in us.
“I didn’t leave my position as chief prosecutor for nothing. It’s because I believe in the man I followed. Not for one second has my confidence in Mr. Legault wavered.”
The candidates presented pledges the party has already put forth: that they would outlaw smoking cannabis in public, and set the minimum age at 21 to protect young people from negative physical effects, so all municipalities would have the same laws. Smokers caught puffing in public could be subject to a fine, the amount of which has not been determined.
Residents of apartment or condominium buildings where smoking weed is not allowed by the owner would have to find another place to live, Lafrenière said, as is the case with tobacco smokers facing the same issues. Except tobacco smokers are allowed to smoke in public.
Asked whether the fans of cannabis who have long been tolerated by police at the Sunday TamTam gatherings would be subject to fines, Lafrenière said it would be up to local police to determine their own “strategies” for employing the law.