Targeted once again by allegations of psychological harassment, CAQ MNA and former minister Marie-Eve Proulx denied everything Monday, but she nevertheless apologized and withdrew her candidacy for the October elections.

Crying, the MNA spoke of 'defamation' and is considering legal action.

"I am in shock today, it was not a decision I had been thinking about for a long time," she said at a press conference in a hotel in Montmagny, in her riding of Côte-du-Sud.

Proulx was still campaigning last weekend for the Oct. 3 election. She said she was not pressured by the party or the premier's office to withdraw.

A complaint of psychological harassment was recently filed with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ATT) by a former political assistant. However, CAQ leader François Legault reiterated his confidence in his MNA.

"It is not with joy that I made this decision, all these stories begin to undermine my morale," said Proulx.

Previously, two complaints had been filed with the ATT but an out-of-court settlement was reached in 2021. In addition, no less than 20 people have left their positions in the MNA's entourage since the beginning of her mandate in 2018.

"False accusations, it's heavy" said Proulx, to justify her departure.

She held up the two investigation reports of the National Assembly that cleared her. One of them deals with the allegations of the ex-political attaché who is now addressing the tribunal.

"There was never any psychological harassment," she continued, adding that she had never heard of a bad work environment.

The latest complaint filed recently by her former political assistant before the tribunal is also unfounded, she said.

"It may have happened that I was clumsy (...) because of my ambitions, I'm sorry, it was unintentional," she said, apologizing for being impatient, and "hurting" people, "if that's the case."

Proulx referred in particular to the seriousness of her task. Legault had assigned to this rising star, the functions of minister for economic development, but also of minister responsible for three regions, Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

"I needed a solid team," she said. "It was not easy to find the right people to accompany me."

She said that despite the out-of-court settlement reached last year, people continued to smear her reputation in the public arena, even though she herself was bound by confidentiality under the agreement.

"It cost me my job as minister," she concluded.

Proulx had once referred to her 'style' as a reason for the vacuum she created around herself. She said that she had consulted a psychologist to improve her interpersonal relationships.

The MNA said that she continued to receive "messages of encouragement and support, despite the false information that was circulating about me."

The CAQ will now have to find and invest a new candidate in the riding. In 2018, Proulx had easily won Côte-du-Sud with 53 per cent of the vote.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 22, 2022