Martine Biron says she won't accept that her sense of journalistic ethics would be questioned.
Now official, the former journalist and political analyst for six years at Radio-Canada is a candidate of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) in Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, a riding on the South Shore of Quebec City. The announcement was made Wednesday in a restaurant in Levis, in the presence of party leader and Premier François Legault.
Biron rejects the criticism of those who accuse her of being a political analyst one day and a CAQ candidate the next. She says she 'did things the right way', but says she understands 'the unease' in the journalistic community created by her candidacy.
"I have been ethical from beginning to end," she said. Her last political column was in June.
Biron said she was first approached in January by the party's chief organizer, Brigitte Legault. She had declined the proposal. But at the beginning of the summer, a new offer was made and she was given the month of July to think about it.
Biron, 59, said that many journalists like her choose to enter politics.
The riding is currently represented by CAQ and former ADQ politician Marc Picard, who has chosen not to seek another mandate after 19 years of active political life. He was vice president of the National Assembly.
Biron said she was in favour of the third link between Quebec City and Levis, a controversial project. Premier Legault reaffirmed that the tunnel "will be built."
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 10, 2022
