Crisis in the Quebec Liberal Party: Fired chief of staff issues formal notice to MNA Marwah Rizqy

The crisis in the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) continues: former chief of staff Geneviève Hinse has issued formal notice to MNA Marwah Rizqy following her dismissal.

“In violation of the constitutional custom that reserved this prerogative for the party leader, you cavalierly claimed to dismiss Hinse from her position as chief of staff, ‘in particular for serious misconduct and breach of trust,’” wrote Hinse’s lawyer, Jacques Jeansonne, in the formal notice, a copy of which was obtained by La Presse Canadienne.

“You did not explain your decision to her, nor to the party authorities, to whom you claimed your reasons were confidential, when in fact you had none.”

Jeansonne goes on to assert that Rizqy’s silence “aggravates the harm suffered” by his client.

The lawyer gives Rizqy a 24-hour ultimatum to publicly admit that there was no reason for Hinse’s dismissal.

“Please be advised that if you fail to comply with this formal notice, the necessary legal proceedings will be taken against you without further notice or delay, and your refusal to mitigate the damage suffered by our client will be alleged and considered to have aggravated the damage,” adds Jeansonne.

“You would be well advised to act accordingly,” he concluded.

The formal notice was sent on Wednesday.

Breach of confidence

On Tuesday, Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez dismissed Rizqy from her position as parliamentary leader and suspended her from the caucus, citing a “breach of trust.”

The reason: Rizqy fired Hinse, a close associate of Rodriguez’s, without consulting him first.

In a written statement sent to the media on Wednesday, Hinse defended herself, saying she was “convinced that there was no justification” for her dismissal.

“On Monday, to my great surprise, I was dismissed from my position as chief of staff of the official opposition in the National Assembly by Marwah Rizqy. Apart from a short letter, I have not received any explanation from her to date, either verbally or in writing, as to what justified such a dismissal,” she wrote.

Rodriguez reiterated on Wednesday that he still did not know why Hinse had been fired. “Only Ms. Rizqy knows, and she will eventually have to say,” he said.

Indeed, the Saint-Laurent MNA has still not spoken publicly since she fired her chief of staff.

In a brief message sent to Liberal elected officials on Monday evening, Rizqy stated that Hinse “was no longer employed by the office” and was being replaced immediately by the director of operations, Isabelle Lord.

CityNews reached out to Rizqy’s team Thursday. A staffer acknowledged receipt of the request for comment but said “Rizqy is unavailable and no comment will be issued.”

Not being elected to the National Assembly, Rodriguez had entrusted Rizqy with the mandate to serve as leader of the official opposition until the 2026 general election. Rizqy, who is not running for re-election, supported Rodriguez in the leadership race.

“If Marwah Rizqy acted in a fit of pique because she wasn’t getting along with her chief of staff and just fired her and then sent out this notice without consulting with the leader, I think that was a major mistake on her part,” Robert Libman, a former MNA and former leader of the Equality Party.

“It certainly is something that would be perceived as a slap in the face of Pablo Rodriguez,” added Daniel Béland, the director of the McGill Institute Study of Canada. “It’s not something you will normally do. You have to consult the leader of the party when you do something like this.”

Crisis in the Quebec Liberal Party

The PLQ has been plunged into a deep crisis since this incident. On Wednesday, Rodriguez defended his integrity and that of his party tooth and nail after disturbing text messages related to his leadership campaign surfaced.

Quebecor’s investigative bureau revealed messages suggesting that members who supported Rodriguez during the race received cash rewards. However, the individuals behind these text messages are not named in the article.

The Liberal leader insisted that he had nothing to hide and even questioned the authenticity of the messages.

Quebecor did not identify the names of the people who had allegedly sent the text messages and CityNews has not verified whether the messages are authentic.

“There is a cloud of uncertainty over the party and all these allegations and this internal drama,” said Béland. “It certainly is not something good for the public image of the party.

“The dominoes are still falling in a way. We still don’t know where this will lead the Liberal Party of Quebec.”

The PLQ has hired an outside firm to shed light on the matter. It’s unclear whether there is any connection between Hinse’s dismissal and the allegations about Rodriguez’s leadership campaign.

“I guess we first have to find out if Rodriguez is at all at fault,” Libman said. “And if he’s got blood on his hands, I think he’s gonna have to leave or the Liberals will have no chance next year.”

“Certainly, it’s not a way to get ready for the pre-electoral campaign and then the actual campaign,” added Béland.

Meanwhile Élections Québec states that “in the context of a leadership race, the Election Act does not provide for any offence prohibiting someone from making a donation in exchange for a vote.”

However, it adds that the Election Act regulates the financing of leadership races. “Candidates’ campaign funds must come from contributions of no more than $500 per voter, and all campaign expenses must be reported,” said spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet.

Élections Québec specifies that giving money in exchange for a vote constitutes an offence in the context of a by-election or general election.

Voters unconcerned

Voters in Montreal didn’t seem to think much of the scandal and said it wouldn’t have an impact on PLQ’s chances in the federal elections next year.

“It’s one of those little squabbles,” said Martin. “In one month, we won’t be taking about it and then there will be another. That’s politics.”

Mary thought it was an attempt to discredit the Liberals. “I don’t believe that there was any malfeasance on their part at this point,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a big issue.”

Andrew Collier said he didn’t pay attention to the events at the PLQ this week, but said, “Scandals are never good.”

Given the CAQ government’s unpopularity, Mary said voters would be focused on voting them out.

“People don’t vote for a party in Quebec,” she said. “They vote against one.”

–With files from Lola Kalder