Denis Lebel is Canada’s Minister for Infrastructure and Communities. He is also the “political minister” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper who — I feel silly for pointing it out — leads the Conservative Party of Canada which is dedicated to preserving and enhancing a Canada which includes Quebec.
And yet, once upon a time, Lebel was member of the separatist Bloc Quebecois. For eight years, from 1993 to 2001. But then his politics changed. His job did, too. In 2000, he was elected mayor of Roberval, up near Lac St. Jean. And in 2004, 2005, and in 2006 he kicked in cash to the Quebec Liberal Party. Then in 2007, he won a federal byelection, picking up a seat — Roberval-Lac St. Jean — that had been held by the BQ. His political contributions to Quebec provincial parties stopped — until last year when he kicked in $100 to the Quebec Liberal Party.
Continue reading Pushing back: Denis Lebel vs Pauline Marois