Crisis in Quebec Liberal Party: Fired chief of staff Hinse sues Marwah Rizqy for $500,000, as caucus meets

A new chapter has opened in the crisis engulfing the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ). Leader Pablo Rodriguez announced Friday that his political party will issue a formal notice to the Journal de Montréal following the publication of text messages alleging a cash-for-vote scheme during the party’s leadership race.

“You put something on the paper and it becomes the truth without having to explain. That’s not how it works,” said Rodriguez at a news conference following an emergency caucus meeting in Montreal.

He added that the party wants the names of the people involved and the phone numbers linked to the text messages, as well as an explanation of how the Journal de Montréal verified their authenticity.

“Give us the name, give us a phone number, and explain to us what you did to make sure that it was true before printing something that can destroy lives, careers,” said Rodriguez.

“We are not asking for the sources to be revealed,” he said, reiterating that the issue is the verification process, not source protection.

On Wednesday morning, Cogeco claimed the two people behind the messages were Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier and CAQ MNA Alice Abou-Khalil. Both MNAs quickly denied the allegations.

“I was very upset because it’s not fair. When there’s allegation, you check to see where it comes from,” said Olivier at the press conference Friday.

Rodriguez said Olivier would also be sending a formal notice to Cogeco. Abou-Khalil issued a similar notice earlier this week. The PLQ has also hired an external firm to investigate the matter.

The controversy comes on the heels of another crisis involving Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy, who fired her chief of staff, Geneviève Hinse, a close associate of Rodriguez, without informing him beforehand.

“You can look for any email, any note, any piece of paper, any track of foreign conversations, any message, anything. It’s not there,” said Rodriguez, who maintains he had no prior knowledge of any wrongdoing linked to Hinse.

“She had my full trust. She’s been working with me for years. She has full credibility… and this happened, so I still don’t know why,” he said talking about Rizqy.

On Friday, Hinse filed a lawsuit seeking $500,000 in damages after what she described as an unjustified dismissal, according to TVA. Earlier in the week, her lawyer had given Rizqy 24 hours to publicly state there were no grounds for the firing.

A letter reportedly sent by Rizqy’s lawyer, revealed Friday by Cogeco, claims Hinse was dismissed for “significant ethical breaches,” including violations of National Assembly standards, internal procedure, and repeated insubordination. CityNews has not independently verified the contents of the letter.

Jonathan Kalles, a former federal advisor to Rodriguez, said the situation has inflicted serious damage.

“At this point, she has committed a sort of kamikaze attack on her own party. I don’t know what advantage there would be to bringing her back,” said Kalles.

It is reported that Hinse refused to consult with the ethics commissioner as requested by Rizqy, according to Cogeco. 

Rodriguez, who reviewed the response letter from Rizqy’s lawyers, said he still does not understand why he was never informed of the allegations.

Earlier this week, Hinse said she remained “convinced that nothing justified” her dismissal. In a message to Liberal MNAs on Monday evening, Rizqy stated Hinse “was no longer employed by the cabinet” and was being replaced by operations director Isabelle Lord.

Rodriguez, who is not elected to the National Assembly, had appointed Rizqy to serve as the interim leader of the official opposition until the 2026 election. Rizqy had supported Rodriguez in the leadership race.

As the crises deepen, Liberal MNA Marc Tanguay expressed frustration with the situation.

“Pablo Rodriguez has my full support. He’s my boss… and as whip, I support my boss 100 per cent,” said Tanguay.

He added that the allegations and internal turmoil are undermining the party’s ability to carry out its work as official opposition.

–With files from the Canadian Press