“A door opened – I passed”, says former journalist Martine Biron of the race for the CAQ

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LÉVIS — Former Radio-Canada journalist Martine Biron insisted Wednesday on the fact that she remained faithful to her journalistic ethics from the beginning to the end of her career.

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Addressing questions about her rapid transition from political analyst to Coalition Avenir Québec candidate in this fall’s election, Biron said that at no time did she spare her efforts with the party — or any party, for that matter. – while she was still a journalist.

She confirmed that she was initially approached by CAQ director general Brigitte Legault in January, but declined an offer to become a candidate. While Biron was on vacation in July, the party approached her again.

Biron said that after 35 years of journalism working in many parts of Canada and approaching the age of 60, she was at a crossroads and ready for a new challenge.

She played down the fact that until a few weeks ago she was a full-time political analyst at the National Assembly, a position she held for six years.

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“I didn’t wear two hats,” Biron told reporters at a press conference where Premier François Legault confirmed that she would be the candidate in the riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, which is located on the South Shore across from Quebec.

“I have built my career on ethics. I am ethical, always have been ethical and always will be. I am not the first journalist and probably not the last journalist to stand for election.

Biron ran through the list of other journalists who have entered politics, naming former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, Deputy Premier Chrystia Freeland, Henri Bourassa, Rene Levesque and Claude Ryan.

When asked by a reporter if she had been impartial in her final months as a journalist, Biron urged her former colleague to read her work. including an analysis she wrote in June in which she calls Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault arrogant.

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Biron has also publicly taken a stand against the CAQ government’s plan to build a tunnel under the St. Lawrence River linking downtown Quebec and Lévis. The project has been mired in controversy, and Biron said in his role as analyst that the plan was a step backwards.

“It really smacks of an electoral project,” Biron said last year, adding that the CAQ had yet to justify the astronomical expense.

But on Wednesday, she changed her tone.

“Our bridges are getting old,” Biron said as Legault smiled. “They need special care. We need this third link – a replacement link.

It was the first time that Biron faced his former media colleagues since the announcement of his departure from journalism. Her decision created waves in the political and journalistic communities, with questions about how long she had planned to enter politics.

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“A door opened – I walked through,” Biron said. “I’m taking action. When you are a journalist, you give people a voice; when you are a politician, you wear it.

She has followed the same path as another media personality: Former Parti Québécois minister Bernard Drainville also announced that he is running for the CAQ in the neighboring riding of Lévis, choosing to quit a lucrative radio job at Cogeco.

The riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudière was held for many years by CAQ MP Marc Picard, who decided a few weeks ago to end his political career after initially saying he would run again.

A veteran of the legislature, Picard has won a total of six terms and has represented the constituency for 19 years. In the 2018 general election, he won the constituency with a majority of around 19,000 votes.

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The riding is now targeted by the Conservative Party of Quebec, which ranks second after the CAQ in the Quebec region. Party leader Éric Duhaime initially considered running in the constituency, but ultimately opted to run in Chauveau.

This week, Duhaime announced that the Conservative candidate in Chutes-de-la-Chaudière will be Mario Fortier. Duhaime described Biron as a “journalist friend of the CAQ” parachuted into the constituency from the suburb of Sillery.

The CAQ’s announcement regarding Biron comes as Quebec’s five major political parties and several smaller ones are finalizing their lists of candidates for a campaign that is expected to begin between August 25 and 29 for a vote to be held the 3rd of October.

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Québec solidaire has declared 120 candidates out of 125, followed by the CAQ with 118. The Conservatives have 105, while the Parti Québécois and the Liberals follow with about half of their announced candidates.

On Wednesday, the new Bloc Montreal party announced four other candidates in Montreal ridings. Accountant Rizwan Rajput will report to Saint-Laurent. Andreà Di Stefano, head of registrations at McGill, will be the candidate in Maurice-Richard. Marc Réjouis, corporate paralegal, will appear in Viau and Stefano Nichele, who is completing a master’s degree in political science, will appear in Jeanne-Mance—Viger.

On Thursday, the Conservatives will announce their candidate for the Liberal stronghold of D’Arcy-McGee. The constituency was held by MP David Birnbaum, who will not run again.

pauthier@postmedia.com

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