CAQ and Quebec solidaire clash over ad blaming Legault for femicide spike

Quebec Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault called out Québec solidaire on Wednesday for running an ad that blamed Premier François Legault for “letting women die.” Guilbault held a press conference yesterday to discuss the alarming increase in femicide in Quebec — seven women have been killed in the past seven weeks in the province, and instances of (reported) domestic violence have also risen considerably during the pandemic. Critics have understandably attributed this trend to lockdown and curfew restrictions, but blaming Legault personally was a step too far.

“While all of Quebec must unite against violence against women, Québec solidaire divide (us). We ask you to remove this obnoxious ad.”

—Geneviève Guilbault

In her tweet, the Deputy Premier addressed several women members of Québec solidaire personally, including the party’s co-leader Manon Massé, whose name appears as an attribution in the ad, suggesting that the message is a direct quote. Massé responded:

“I acknowledge that this post was out of context, and I did not endorse it. I have asked my team to remove it promptly. Let’s focus on the goal #FéminicideZéro“

—Manon Massé

Je reconnais que cette publication était hors de propos, je ne l’ai pas approuvée. J’ai demandé à mon équipe de la retirer promptement. Concentrons-nous sur l’objectif #FéminicideZéro.

— Manon Massé (@ManonMasse_Qs) March 24, 2021

During the press conference, Guilbault had this to say about the femicide spike in Quebec:

“It’s seven deaths too many … seven tragedies that as women, as a government, as a society we can not accept.”

She also noted that women fleeing violence should not be worried about being fined for defying public health restrictions, only for their own well-being.

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