Parti Quebecois says it was told to keep quiet about anti-corruption meeting

MONTREAL – Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois is defending her party’s decision to be silent about a meeting two of its senior officials had with provincial anti-corruption officials.

Marois says the UPAC anti-corruption unit asked the party to not talk about February’s meeting.

The PQ leader said today the meeting was an informal one and that nothing was seized.

Details of the meeting came out on Tuesday evening, forcing the PQ to issue a statement.

Marois has been attacking the Liberals for several days on integrity issues ahead of the April 7 election.

She says it’s unfair to compare the February meeting with the raids on Liberal offices.

Last summer, when Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard was met by the anti-corruption squad under similar circumstances, he held a news conference to clear the air.

Issues of ethics and integrity dominated a PQ news conference in Montreal on Wednesday.

Marois had to backtrack on an error she’s repeated in the past few days: that ex-Liberal minister Tony Tomassi is facing criminal charges related to the selling of daycare permits.

After several questions on the matter, Marois conceded that Tomassi is in fact facing charges of fraud and breach of trust stemming from the use of a credit card provided to him by a now defunct security company.

Tomassi is one of the examples she has cited in recent days in her attacks on the Liberals’ integrity record.