Mario Laframboise new CAQ government whip
Posted April 18, 2024 10:38 am.
Last Updated April 18, 2024 10:39 am.
Quebec Premier François Legault didn’t wait long to replace his government whip.
Twenty-four hours after Éric Lefebvre left the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) caucus, Legault announced that Blainville MNA Mario Laframboise would replace him as government whip.
“I took part in the weekly caucus of CAQ MNAs this evening. I took the opportunity to announce the appointment of Mario Laframboise as chief government whip,” wrote the premier on X on Wednesday evening.
Laframboise handed his position as caucus chair to Mégantic MNA François Jacques.
“I am convinced that Mario and François will enable us to maintain the smooth and great cohesion of our team,” added Legault.
Lefebvre, who represents the riding of Arthabaska, announced Tuesday evening on X that he was leaving the CAQ to run with the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) in the next federal election.
In the meantime, he will sit as an independent.
Eric Girard not closing the door with the Conservatives
CAQ Finance Minister Eric Girard did not rule out running with the federal Conservatives (CPC) and hinted that he would like to hold a similar position at federal level.
“I’ve always said that I love Canada and that one day I might be interested in being Canada’s finance minister,” Girard told a press scrum at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Asked by reporters whether he might run with the Conservatives as he did in 2015, Girard refused to close the door.
“I don’t have to answer that question. I have responsibilities and I’m happy with my responsibilities,” he said.
Last December, Girard said that his values were not compatible with those of the CPC.
“My heart is here in the CAQ”
CAQ Minister for the status of Women Martine Biron says that Lefebvre has some explaining to do.
“He was elected with a resounding majority, so his constituents were counting on him (…) I’m really curious to hear the reasons behind his decision,” she said.
CAQ Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry, who was also a candidate for the federal Conservatives in 2015, explained that she would not be following her colleague.
“My heart is here at the CAQ with my premier, my party and my colleagues,” she said.
Mario Asselin, CAQ MNA for Vanier-Les Rivières, suggested that Lefebvre was “one of the first to jump ship.”
Asked if there might be others, he replied that he didn’t know.
Lefebvre is the second CAQ elected official to leave the caucus since the last election in 2022.
MNA for Jean-Talon in Quebec City Joëlle Boutin resigned last July, citing family reasons.
Since Boutin left her seat vacant, a by-election had to be held, where the CAQ lost the Jean-Talon riding to the Parti Québécois (PQ).
As Lefebvre is becoming an independent MNA, there will be no by-election to replace him for the time being.
However, section 17 of the Act respecting the National Assembly of Quebec “provides that the seat of a member becomes de facto vacant if he is appointed to the Senate of Canada or if he is a candidate in a federal election or a provincial election in another province.”
“A schizophrenic position
Québec solidaire (QS) and the PQ have expressed their discomfort with Eric Lefebvre’s decision to continue sitting as an independent MNA in Quebec City while admitting that he wants to make the leap to the federal government.
QS MNA Vincent Marissal urged his colleague to reflect and decide out of respect for his constituents.
“It’s a bit of a schizophrenic position to be in, so I think the simplest thing is to choose. Sometimes in life you make choices, it’s complicated, but I think Éric should make that decision,” he said. “After that, it’s his decision, and I don’t want to play the conscience director or the moralist, but I think he’s putting himself in a complicated position. He’s putting his voters in a confused position.”
Lefebvre caused a stir when he tried to justify the $30,000 pay increase for members of the National Assembly by saying that his workload was so hard, that he only saw his mother once a year.
“I don’t know if he’ll be able to see his mother more when he sits in Ottawa, assuming he’s elected. In any case, if he is elected, he will earn a lot more money in Ottawa, because federal MPs earn a lot of money,” said Marissal.
While the basic salary of a member of the National Assembly is around $130,000, it is around $200,000 at federal level.
‘He should explain himself’
According to PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé, Lefebvre has a lot of explaining to do, especially since he sat in the cabinet as government whip.
“The MNA for Arthabaska is leaving the Coalition avenir Québec and its government 18 months after his election. How is it that an MNA who sits on the cabinet, who knows what is happening and what is coming, still decides to leave? He was elected under a CAQ mandate. I think at the very least he should explain himself,” he said.
Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay remained more circumspect about the former CAQ whip’s decision to sit as an independent.
“In the meantime, I assume that he will be a 100 per cent member of the Quebec National Assembly, independent though he may be,” he said.
Tanguay indicated it hurt Legault that Lefebvre saw more of a future with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
While the CAQ has been floundering in the polls for several months, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have been flying high.
However, they are lagging in Quebec, where they are in third place behind the Bloc Québécois and Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, according to poll aggregator 338Canada.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
