Quebec inquiry to PQ, other parties: keep us out of partisan political ads

MONTREAL – Quebec’s corruption inquiry has a message for all of the province’s political parties: keep us and our commission chair out of your ads.

The inquiry is responding to the use of Justice France Charbonneau’s image in a Parti Quebecois ad that attacked the Liberals’ integrity.

The ad appeared online on Thursday.

Charbonneau’s presence in the Twitter ad quietly disappeared late Thursday, but not before it had been shared and retweeted over several hours.

The inquiry said in a terse statement today it has never authorized the use of Charbonneau’s photo and will not allow any party to use any image related to her or to the commission itself.

PQ Leader Pauline Marois told a news conference today that nobody is perfect and that Charbonneau’s image was removed when staff realized it was not pertinent.

The image was used despite a message from Charbonneau just two weeks ago that her inquiry is neutral during the campaign leading to the April 7 election.

The rest of the PQ ad remains intact, with the words “Nothing has changed at the PLQ.” It draws attention to the number of times the current crop of incumbent Liberal candidates voted in the legislature against holding a corruption probe.

The PQ made no mention on its Twitter page as to why it removed Charbonneau’s image from the ad.

The inquiry reaffirmed in its statement Friday that it is apolitical and independent.

That’s why it decided to adjourn hearings until the day after the April 7 election rather than tackle sensitive subjects that could have an impact on the outcome.

Outstanding issues like political party financing and contracts involving the provincial Transport Department will be dealt with in the coming months.

The commission is expected to table a final report by April 2015.