CAQ defends its ranking of citizens according to their political views

Sylvain Lévesque, CAQ MNA and Second Vice-President of the National Assembly, with Premier François Legault and Siegfried Peters, Secretary General of the National Assembly, on Oct. 18, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot)

Elected officials with the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) deny that they keep records of citizens who come to their offices based on their political views.

An investigation report by the Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly revealed on Wednesday that constituency office employees and CAQ representatives cross-referenced data on the voters' list to determine the views of each person ahead of the next campaign.

On Thursday morning, the National Assembly unanimously reprimanded Sylvain Lévesque, the MNA under investigation by Commissioner Ariane Mignolet, with one abstention.

However, the CAQ caucus decided not to exclude him. The MNA was forced to resign on Wednesday from his position as vice-president of the Assembly, and on Thursday the elected representatives ratified the appointment of Sylvie d'Amour to replace him.

"A very fine tool"

The opposition roundly denounced the CAQ's ranking practices, but the party defends using its electoral tool, Coaliste, in constituency offices.

Many of the CAQ's elected representatives were quick to respond or evasive when asked about the use of Coaliste in their offices, but the government's House Leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette, defended his party.

"Citizens are not identified according to their political allegiances; they are treated according to their problems," he said.

The Coaliste "is a very fine tool," acknowledged Mathieu Rivest, the MNA for Côte-du-Sud.

Nicolet-Bécancour MNA Donald Martel said he would review the use of Coaliste in his constituency office, adding that he had never discriminated against any constituents.

"We never looked to see if someone who came to my office voted for me or not," he said.

Similarly, Beauce-Nord MNA Luc Provençal and Minister Jonatan Julien said they did not use Coaliste in their riding offices.

"Extremely problematic," says opposition

Liberal leader Marc Tanguay reiterated that the riding office is not the place to tally and that all citizens must be served, regardless of their beliefs.

"Coaliste has no business in a riding office," Tanguay told journalists at the National Assembly.

He emphasized that Liberal MNAs’ office staff did not engage in this practice.

Similarly, Québec Solidaire’s Alejandra Zaga Mendez said that QS constituency offices do not rank riding cases.

"Is it everywhere (in CAQ riding offices) that electoral lists and partisan lists are used to filter, to judge the admissibility of a riding case?" she asked.

"That's extremely problematic. We wonder who gives these types of instructions to other offices?"

Parti Québecois MNA Joël Arseneau assured there was no partisan work being done in his constituency office.

"How can you be the MNA for a riding and assess whether you're going to support and endorse and help a fellow citizen based on their political views? I've been doing just the opposite in my riding for the past six years. Under no circumstances are partisan political considerations considered," he said.

Arseneau also reiterated that the tools that political staff must use are those provided by the National Assembly.

"That's the rules – and that this work be done without partisanship. Obviously, if we have a partisan tool to manage riding cases, well that's reprehensible and must be withdrawn."

A highly critical report

In her report published Wednesday on Lévesque’s case, Commissioner Mignolet frowned upon the fact that staff members of CAQ elected officials and the MNAs themselves have access to data "identifying each voter's level of sympathy for the party, as well as other information of a partisan nature."

The words "supporter," "opponent," and "not marked" are in boxes in each voter's file. Staff therefore hold this information when a citizen addresses them.

"This situation is indicative of a blurring of the lines between partisan activities and those related to the office of MNAs," said the commissioner, stressing that every citizen is entitled to the assistance of their MNA, regardless of his or her political opinions.

In January 2023, QS requested the commissioner's investigation into Lévesque because it had been reported that a member of the constituency office staff had used computer equipment and the official e-mail address provided by the National Assembly to promote the CAQ's partisan fundraising activities, breaching a section of the Code of Ethics.

In the end, the MNA was cleared of these allegations, but the commissioner concluded that he had attempted to mislead her and hinder her investigative work, which constitute breaches of the Code of Ethics.

Specifically, Lévesque attempted to conceal facts, communicated inaccurate information, tried to mislead the commissioner and destroyed evidence, among other things, the report concluded.

"The deputy always trivializes the repercussions of his conduct," reads the report.

"He does not seem to realize that it not only harmed the investigation, but that it also – and above all – had the effect of disgracing the institution of the commissioner. Despite his targeted apology, the MNA has only partially acknowledged his errors."

All MNAs, including those from the CAQ, voted Thursday morning in favor of a reprimand, as recommended by the commissioner. Only the independent MNA for Saint-Jérôme, Youri Chassin, abstained.

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press Nov. 7, 2024.