MONTREAL, QC - Georges Laraque announced today that he will step aside as the Green Party of Canada candidate in the Montreal riding of Bourassa and as the party’s Deputy Leader effective immediately. Laraque will instead focus on clearing his name of fraud charges that were brought against him yesterday by the province of Quebec.
“I am stepping aside from my roles with the Green Party while the judicial process takes its course. I have spent the better part of the day reflecting on this with family, friends, supporters, members of the party and my campaign team. It is a very difficult decision to make, but ultimately, I make this decision for the residents of Bourassa, so as not to distract from the many important issues to be addressed in this campaign. I will focus on proving my innocence before returning to any roles within the Green Party,” Laraque said.
“I am confident of Georges' innocence and I support him personally. The Green Party holds itself to a high standard and believes that any candidate or MP of any party cannot serve the public interest if dealing with charges such as these. Once Georges is exonerated, I hope he will once again represent us as a candidate. In the meantime, I accept his resignation as Deputy Leader and as a candidate with tremendous regret,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
Laraque and May will hold a press conference tomorrow morning at 10:00am at the Laraque dans Bourassa campaign office: 3340 rue Fleury Est, Montréal-Nord.
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Media contact:
Stéphanie Charron
Communications Coordinator
Laraque dans Bourassa
Phone: (438) 384-3340
stephanie.charron@partivert.ca