Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon officially accepted Sandro Grande's apology on Sunday after the two men spoke for over an hour at the PQ offices in Montreal.

Montreal CF had hired Grande as head coach of the reserve team -- but he was quickly shown the door after a Twitter post from about ten years ago resurfaced.

In that post, he expressed support for the shooter who attempted to assassinate former premier Pauline Marois and lamented that he had missed his target.

"I found in Sandro Grande a man sincere in his apology and I was able to discuss the situation with his family, which has obviously lived a very difficult situation in recent weeks," reads a Facebook post from St-Pierre Plamondon.

Grande publicly apologized on Thursday and sent a letter to Marois.

St-Pierre Plamondon shared an excerpt of her response.

"I am sure you want to pass on good values to your children, but all public people -- that includes you of course -- have a responsibility to contribute to a respectful debate and to pass on the importance of that respect to younger generations," Marois wrote.

"I am told that you and members of your family are receiving hurtful messages in the wake of recent events. This is totally contrary to my values. If you believe that publishing your letter and my response can help bring closure, I encourage you to do so," her response continues.

St-Pierre Plamondon said he and Grande agreed to work together to organize hate-prevention efforts.

"To the extent that Ms. Marois does not wish to see Mr. Grande ostracized or 'cancelled,' I feel comfortable, as leader of our political party and our movement, accepting her apology and thus allowing Mr. Grande to turn the page, so that he can contribute as positively as possible to our society in the future," said St-Pierre Plamondon.

"This difficult episode will have allowed the whole of Quebec society to agree on the fact that independentists deserve neither contempt nor intimidation; and that collectively, we refuse violence, regardless of the political party or political idea in question," the PQ leader concluded. "To the extent that Mr. Grande adheres to these principles and is sincere in his approach, which I have sensed from him, we wish him reintegration into society in a role in which he apparently excels, that of teaching youth soccer."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 22, 2023.