Couillard aims to clarify circumstances surrounding Paradis expulsion

Couillard told reporters he was first informed of a complaint against Paradis one week ago while attending the Davos economic summit.

On Tuesday, his office received a letter from the complainant and Paradis was removed from cabinet temporarily on Wednesday without any reason given.

“We received a letter from the person saying she or he has been the victim of these incidents, which led to the immediate removal of Mr. Paradis (temporarily) from cabinet,” Couillard said.

“Yesterday (Thursday) evening, we had confirmation that (Quebec provincial police) had opened a formal inquiry on this. Given that information, I decided to act immediately and asked Mr. Paradis to leave cabinet and caucus.”

Paradis has not been charged with any crime and Couillard declined to elaborate on the nature of the criminal complaint.

Opposition parties in Quebec City pounced on the matter, questioning the government’s transparency on the matter.

The Parti Quebecois’ Agnes Maltais said she wants a detailed account of the events between last week, when police first contacted Couillard’s office regarding Paradis, and Thursday, when Couillard was told he was the subject of an investigation.

“Presently, there are troubling facts, there are holes (in the sequence of events),” Maltais said.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Paradis said he was stepping away from his cabinet duties temporarily after falling off a horse and suffering a concussion.

Laurence Lemieux described the concussion as mild and said he suffered no fracture.

But the concussion appears to be more serious than expected and Paradis was transferred to a Montreal hospital on Friday to undergo further tests.

His doctors judged he was not in any condition to speak to police, said a spokeswoman at his riding office.

Couillard also spoke about Paradis’ health problems.

“According to the information I have, Mr. Paradis was indeed the victim of an accident and a concussion and is under medical care,” he said before news emerged of Paradis’ transfer to Montreal.

“But this is not the reason he was asked to leave cabinet — first on a temporary basis on Wednesday and permanently (on Thursday).”

Paradis is the second Liberal to resign in recent months due to an ongoing police investigation.

In October, Gerry Sklavounos was dumped from caucus after a woman accused him of sexual assault dating back to 2014.

Sklavounos, who eventually took a medical leave, hasn’t been charged and the Crown is currently studying the file.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Couillard aims to clarify circumstances surrounding Paradis expulsion

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