MONTREAL - Beleaguered former PQ leader André Boisclair said Sunday that he plans to sue Jacques Duchesneau, Francois Legault and the CAQ for defamation concerning allegations made last Wednesday concerning a $2.5 million construction contract he green-lighted to friend Paul Sauve in 2003. 

Boisclair made the brief statement, in both French and English, at the Omni Hotel in downtown Montreal Sunday at 2 p.m.

"I've never had a debt towards organized crime and was never pressured by organized crime," he said. "In the St. James Church repair file, I always respected the rules and never had a goal of helping Paul Sauve."

He said he would not answer questions because his lawyers instructed him to make no further comment on the situation, as the affair will eventually go before the courts.

Boisclair, who has taken a paid leave from his diplomatic post in New York, initially planned to respond to CAQ MNA Jacques Duchesneau’s allegations Monday.

"Having devoted my life to public service, I won't allow someone to try to ruin my reputation like Duchesneau has done," said Boisclair, reading from his prepared statement.

Duchesneau had suggested that there might be a link between Boisclair’s admitted use of cocaine and a contract he awarded a contractor friend in 2003 while serving in the PQ cabinet.

Boisclair gave him 48 hours to retract his statements, but Duchesneau declined to do so.

Boisclair presented a timeline Sunday which he said contradicted Duchesneau's claims. He noted that his sporadic use of cocaine took place in 1997 or 1998, Boisclair gave the church repair contract to Sauve in 2003 and Sauve said that his company was infiltrated by the Hells Angels only in 2006.

Boisclair, 47, also noted that the Liberals took power a few days after the contract to repair the church was given but they saw nothing wrong with it and proceded with the contract to make the repairs, an initiative which had wide support.

Revelations of Boisclair's drug use were originally confirmed eight years ago when he was running to replace PQ leader Bernard Landry, a race he eventually won.

He told reporters on Sept. 19, 2005 that he took cocaine "a couple of times."  "I am telling you I regret it. I'm telling you I am elsewhere in my life," he said at the time.

Boisclair made made the confession after being repeatedly asked about a published report that then-PQ leader Lucien Bouchard had expressed concern about his lifestyle habits, a report which Boisclair denied.

Premier Pauline Marois will undoubtedly face questions about the affair when she appears Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where she is attending a function to announce measures to encourage young people to museums.

She also has an event slated for the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts as part of a cultural festival.

Liberal MNA Robert Poeti criticized Marois for failing to take charge of the situation and for allowing media pressure to force Boisclair from his post.

-With files from The Canadian Press