PQ leadership candidate admits cocaine use

[Shiva]

PQ leadership candidate admits cocaine use

Last Updated Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:19:40 EDT
CBC News

PQ leadership favourite André Boisclair has admitted that he used cocaine during the years he served as a cabinet minister in the Quebec government.

The acknowledgment comes just weeks before Parti Québécois members choose a new leader.

Boisclair admitted he used cocaine in the years during which he was a PQ cabinet minister, between 1996 and 2003. But he didn't want to discuss when he consumed coke, with whom he did it, and from where he got it.

"What I want to tell you is I made mistakes, things I regret. Yes, I consumed. I can't be clearer than that," Boisclair said Monday.

He called his past drug use a regrettable mistake he made in his youth. He said he doesn't use coke now, and he was never impaired on the job.

"I've never had problems of consumption," Boisclair said in Lévis, Que. "I have never been in a situation where I was under the influence of anything when I carried out my responsibilities as a member of the legislature or as a cabinet minister."

Michel David, a political columnist with Montreal's La Presse, said the admission of cocaine use while in office places Boisclair in trouble. "Maybe he was young, but he was a young cabinet minister, and that's the whole point," David said.

"How much, from now on, is André Boisclair a political risk, both for the PQ and for the sovereigntist movement?"

Boisclair is one of nine candidates vying to replace Bernard Landry as PQ leader in November.

 

[no1important]

RE: PQ leadership candida

At least he is honest. How many others use it and it never comes to light?

 

[Shiva]

Re: RE: PQ leadership candida

At least he is honest. How many others use it and it never comes to light?

True enough, but at the same time, now that we know the truth, I think it's only reasonable to take it into account when voting for him. Certainly, if one of my representatives stated he had been a coke addict, I'd be much less likely to vote for him. The stuff does have the effect of blurring the mind, and a clear state of mind is necessary for someone who is supposed to be making important gov't decisions. I just happened across the article today when visiting the cbc's website. I can't help but wonder how this all got brought up, but the article doesn't go into that.

 

[no1important]

RE: PQ leadership candida

I too would be reluctant at first to vote for him. But if he went through rehab and is clean now (or can prove he is clean and not used in a long time), I would be inclined to give him a second chance. I am a firm believer in second chances, some people are not and thats their right.

Maybe he was "forced" to admit it due to leadership convention coming up, or maybe someone else was going to spill the beans. But he could of hid the fact, denied it or not said anything either. But he admitted it and told the truth and in this day and age there are not to many truthful or honest politicians out there.

Personally I would be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and give him another chance.

 

[Numure]

RE: PQ leadership candida

No one saw this comming. He admitted it by his own will. And for that, he jumps up a notch in my opinion. He has my vote in the comming convention, thats for sure.

We all made mistakes, we all had to admit it not only to ourselves, but to others as well. I'd prefer a politician that doesnt feel above us, to one that does.

 

[iluvpoutine]

he won't get my vote. He used it while being a cabinet minister - weak man if you ask me. He's probably into ecstacy now! :bootyshake:

 

[Reverend Blair]

RE: PQ leadership candida

I have a policy of only ridiculing druggies who make bad decisions.

John Lennon is a demi-god, for instance. Paul McCartney is an idiot. Keith Moon choked on his own vomit and won a place in my heart. If Britney Spears did the same I'd do a little dance. Hunter Thompson gobbled every substance he could get his hands on and it was good. George Bush is a drunken coke fiend who will kill us all while whoring out his daughters if he gets a chance.

I have no problem with drug and alcohol abuse if it results in somebody seeing the albatrosses around their neck, it's whole other story when they decide to kill the last albatross for a few bucks though.

 

[PoisonPete2]

sounds like he's got what it takes to be President of the U.S.A.

 

[Nascar_James]

Re: RE: PQ leadership candidate admits cocaine use

sounds like he's got what it takes to be President of the U.S.A.

President of the USA? Bite your tongue. No way is a left wing separatist druggie ever going to become the President of the United States. Hah ... that's a good one!

 

[Reverend Blair]

RE: PQ leadership candida

Yeah, only right wing drunken coke fiends can be president of the US. Somebody from the left smokes a joint and they become evil incarnate because they still won't kill for money.

 

[iluvpoutine]

:lol:

 

[Vitamin C]

Re: RE: PQ leadership candida

Yeah, only right wing drunken coke fiends can be president of the US. Somebody from the left smokes a joint and they become evil incarnate because they still won't kill for money.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

[bevvyd]

I wonder just how many top level people, from all spectres of business, are doing coke or have done coke? I bet the numbers would be quite high, teehee.

 

[Shiva]

no1important, it seems you were right about there being questions and pressure about his drug use in the past. An excerpt from the Globe & Mail:

Will snorting snow freeze out Boisclair?
By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 Posted at 5:57 PM EDT
Globe and Mail Update

Political experts are divided over whether the admission by Parti Québécois leadership front-runner André Boisclair that he used cocaine when he was a PQ cabinet minister will harm him going into the race's first debate Wednesday evening.

The all-candidates meeting is being held in Sherbrooke, Que., and will be the first opportunity for candidates to gauge the rank-and-file members' reaction to the drug-use uproar.

Professor Robert Bothwell, a political scientist who teaches in the department of history at the University of Toronto, told globeandmail.com that he doesn't believe the cocaine use admission will hurt Mr. Boisclair in the long run.

"My sense...is this is being treated as a bit of a yawn," he said. He said because the average age of PQ members may skew a bit younger than that of other political parties, he suspects "he'll get away with it."

....
Later on, see:
But after rumours about his former drug use began to swirl, Mr. Boisclair admitted this week that he had used the drug during his time in cabinet during the late 1990s.

 

[Shiva]

An excerpt. Those interested can read more at the source.

Boisclair feels heat on drugs

Rattled PQ leadership candidate lashes out at media: 'I am under a great deal of stress'
By RHÉAL SÉGUIN
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 Posted at 4:11 AM EDT
Globe and Mail Update

QUEBEC — The Parti Québécois leadership race veered into a public frenzy yesterday over how long the campaign's front-runner used cocaine and whether he will be forced to drop out.

This week, leading candidate André Boisclair admitted he used cocaine when he was a PQ cabinet minister in the late 1990s. One of his former cabinet colleagues, François Gendron, suggested yesterday that Mr. Boisclair's cocaine use might have stretched over a long period of time.

"I can tell you frankly that I was aware of the rumours. They had been circulating for a long time," said Mr. Gendron, the longest-sitting member of the National Assembly.

"If there are things left to clean up it will be up to him to do it and I hope he cleans them up."

Mr. Boisclair refused to say how long he used cocaine and at what point he stopped taking the illegal drug. Mr. Gendron said that when rumours persisted in cabinet, authorities whom he did not identify took matters in hand.

"Most of the [cabinet] colleagues knew about the rumours. It was up to authorities to manage the situation. I am aware that some people in authority tried to do just that, and according to my information, they probably succeeded since he doesn't take any more drugs," Mr. Gendron said.

Mr. Boisclair was never charged and no police investigation has come to light.

The darling of the PQ establishment appeared frantic yesterday and came close to breaking under pressure from reporters demanding explanations about his cocaine us

 

[JomZ]

Its understandable that we expect our leaders to be more then capable of mistrust. But the use of cocaine while in a ministry position does not spell out leadership material.

People do drugs, its a fact of life. Most people you know are on a drug of some sort (legal, illegal, or a bit of both). Most leaders of the world probably snort a line before a press meeting (that would explain a lot).

But, this also shows an inherent weakness of character in the person that we think should lead us. Its very prominent part of a drug addicts life. Even after they stopped using, its been documented in Bush's activities and demeanor, that his past drinking and drug discretions are still lingering (Discussed in another thread).
This must be taken into account if they are to be leader of a party, and unfortunately this will dog André Boisclair for the rest of his career. But the public must know that their leaders can make a coherent decision without being in another state of mind.