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What to know about the Quebec Liberal Party crisis
What is the latest scandal about?
News reports surfaced this week alleging that a Montreal business person hosted an event at his home this spring to support Pablo Rodriguez’s campaign to become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and that the business person had allegedly given envelopes containing $500 cash to some guests to donate to the campaign. By law, donations have to be made from an individual’s bank account and cannot be reimbursed.
Rodriguez, who won the party leadership race in June, issued a statement on Tuesday stating that he was present at the event, but that neither he nor his campaign team had any knowledge of refunds issued to donors and that he and his team have zero tolerance for such acts. The statement also announced that Rodriguez will file a complaint with Quebec’s anticorruption squad, UPAC, and with Elections Quebec against the business person, calling the alleged actions “unacceptable, unethical and contrary to the rules in force.”
The business person reportedly admitted to having on his own initiative reimbursed some of his employees who could not afford to attend the event.
The business person was later identified in news reports as Emanuel Cabral, founder of a wine and port import agency.
He is the president and majority shareholder of Global International Network Inc., a port and wine import agency he founded in 1996 that is based in Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough. Quebec business records also show he is president and majority shareholder of a holding company, Société d’Investissements Cabral (S.I.C.) S.A.
Before launching his import agency, Cabral’s LinkedIn profile says he was a senior adviser from 1992 to 1994 to John Ciaccia, while the latter was Quebec’s minister of international affairs. Cabral says he advised the minister on bilateral relations with Mediterranean Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, providing “strategic liaison” between the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government and advising companies “wishing to develop products and services for export.”
“I assessed the availability and relevance of government subsidies and appropriate financing,” his profile says.
A graduate of the Université du Québec à Montréal in the 1980s, Cabral’s profile indicates his work experience started in the garment industry in Montreal in 1969.
The crisis within the Quebec Liberal Party began on Nov. 18, when Rodriguez removed Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy as the party’s parliamentary leader and suspended her from caucus for firing her chief of staff, Geneviève Hinse, without consulting Rodriguez. In the wake of that initial scandal, it was reported that some party members had allegedly received “brownies” ($100 bills) to vote for Rodriguez in the spring leadership race. Rodriguez later expelled Rizqy and MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier from the party.
The crisis has led to the launch of at least three investigations, including by UPAC, the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner and by the Quebec Liberal Party itself.
As of Wednesday, Elections Quebec had not confirmed that an investigation is underway.
With 870 contributions to his leadership campaign, Rodriguez outstripped all other Quebec Liberal contenders. The closest was Charles Milliard, who garnered 657 contributions. Rodriguez’s campaign had revenue of $324,485 compared to Milliard’s $191,465, according to the candidates’ financial reports filed with Elections Quebec.
[Source: The Montreal Gazette]
Who is Emanuel Cabral?
What other scandals have hit the Quebec Liberals since Rodriguez became leader?
How much money did Rodriguez’s leadership campaign raise?
