The Parti Quebecois has decided not to oppose Fatima Houda-Pepin in her run for re-election on the South Shore
Houda-Pepin is the former Liberal MNA who was kicked out of the party in a dispute over the Charter of Values.
The only Muslim woman in the National Assembly, first elected in 1994 to represent La Piniere, split with her former party over its opposition to a PQ-proposed ban on government employees wearing religious symbols.
"We support this woman and her decision to stand up for gender equality and secularism, and the fight against Muslim fundamentalism," said PQ Minister Bernard Drainville. "It's a way of showing that the Charter unites people across the horizon."
We're choosing our battlegrounds. In La Piniere we've decided to prioritize the fight for equality between men and women, for a non-religious state," said Drainville.
The Liberal party has nominated Dr. Gaetan Barrette to run in La Piniere. The head of the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists ran, unsuccessfully, for the CAQ in 2012.
Houda-Pepin said that in spite of the flattering words from the PQ, she has no intention to budge from her federalist position.
"I am a Liberal and I am a federalist since 20 years, committed to the Liberal Party of Quebec."
In order to keep her seat as MNA for the Liberal stronghold, the independent Houda-Pepin will need to beat former CAQ candidate Gaetan Barrette, a medical doctor considered a star candidate for the Liberals.
"He stands for his own interests, that's clear," said Houda-Pepin of her opponent. "He wanted to have a limousine to be a minister of health."
