Quebec’s anti-corruption squad (UPAC) has announced that it will open a criminal investigation into the Quebec Liberal Party.
It’s the latest development in a crisis that has rocked the party in recent weeks.
“We confirm that our validations are complete and that we are officially opening an investigation,” UPAC wrote in an email to CTV News.
“We will not be issuing any further comments in order to protect our actions as much as possible and to respect the rights of those involved. A criminal investigation must remain confidential, and we wish to let our investigators do their work.”
Quebec Liberal Party Leader Pablo Rodriguez acknowledged the investigation on X and said it was important to get to the bottom of what happened.
“I am the first to want that. The Quebec Liberal Party and all its authorities will cooperate fully,” Rodriguez said in a post.
“If someone has committed an illegal act, the truth must come out, and as leader, I will act without hesitation.”
Last week, Rodriguez removed Chomedey MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier from caucus after the ethics commissioner launched an investigation into whether she used resources from her constituency office during the party’s leadership race.
Last month, the Journal de Montréal reported on text messages suggesting that members who supported Rodriguez during the race had been offered cash rewards. The people behind those messages were not identified in the article.
Radio station Cogeco later claimed the senders were Liberal MNA Lakhoyan Olivier and CAQ MNA Alice Abou-Khalil. Both denied the allegations and sent formal notices to Cogeco. Lakhoyan Olivier has insisted she did nothing wrong.
The Liberal caucus has also been thrown into turmoil after former parliamentary leader Marwah Rizqy fired her chief of staff last month without consulting Rodriguez. He later expelled her from caucus.
In Quebec City, Rodriguez reiterated that if someone has done something illegal, they would “pay the price and suffer the consequences.”
When asked whether he would remain leader, Rodriguez said the situation is not about him.
“I’m duly elected by the members, and there is nothing that I have done wrong,” he told reporters.
“People are trying to create noise about leadership, but remember that we are making a lot of progress in the ridings — recruiting candidates, organizing, working on the platform. Quebecers want to move on from the CAQ, and they don’t want a referendum. We are offering a good economic package, and we will offer the best team.”
In an interview, political analyst Justine McIntyre said that despite Rodriguez’s insistence on his innocence, the UPAC investigation suggests the matter is serious.
“So he can continue to say that he’s done nothing wrong — he’s going to collaborate and so on,” McIntyre said. “But there’s now going to be tremendous pressure on him to actually step aside, because we’re in a situation where the election is only 10 months away.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
