Quebec pays compensation to bereaved couple: Q&A with McGill professor

The CAQ is offering to pay compensation to a grieving couple who paid $200 to meet Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbeau to talk about the fight against drink driving.

Prime Minister François Legault's party, which has been embroiled in a fundraising controversy, has been on the defensive in recent weeks.

---

RELATED: Quebec government offers donation reimbursement for grieving couples

---

CityNews spoke to Professor Daniel Beland, Director of the McGill Research Institute in Canada.

What about the latest allegations against the party, grieving parents paying to get in, and previous claims that mayors have to pay to meet cabinet ministers?

“Yeah, it looks pretty bad for CAQ. Naturally, they announced that they would no longer accept donations from individuals moving forward. But we're hearing more and more of these stories, and each time it's hard to answer CAQ, especially in this case of grieving parents, who actually know the staff member and the MNA who advised the couple to participate in this fundraiser. They admit wrongdoing. But giving them their money back sounds like adding insult to injury. I don't think this is necessary at this time. It's not about money. It's about what happened.”

---

How do you think the government responded? After various accusations, is it enough to say that they only rely on public funding?

“Paying to enter is a no-no. They wouldn't be in this situation if they followed the rules properly with their staff and the NSC. I don't think it's the idea that people contribute to political parties. In Quebec, it's only up to $100. The CAQ recently supported increasing that amount to $200. It's $100, except in an election year when it's $200. They said they would raise it to $200 total. But then they said “no, we won't take that money anymore”. Then they forced other parties to do the same, but they won't. Because ultimately it's CAQ's responsibility to fix the way they deal with this.”

---

How can CAQ recover after being down in the polls?

“It's really hard. It seems like every day you have new revelations or really problematic statements from them. The idea of ​​compensating the couple, for example, if it's really about this $200, about a personal amount, I don't think that solves the problem for them at all. Indeed, it once again makes CAQ look bad.”