Governor General criticized by sister over Boisclair jokes
Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean is weathering fresh controversy over recent comments she made about André Boisclair, the frontrunner in the race to lead the separatist Parti Québécois – and this time the critics include her sister.
[...]
On Saturday, the province's newspapers were filled with a new uproar over comments Jean made at a recent National Press Gallery dinner, which is typically a light-hearted gathering where politicians and reporters make fun of themselves and others.
In her remarks at the dinner, the Governor General joked about holding a lunch for Boisclair, who recently admitted to using cocaine while he was a Quebec cabinet minister.
"We can have sandwiches and coke. Well, should André Boisclair, decide to attend, it will be coke for sure."
Boisclair always follows the "party line," she said.
The comments outraged some people in Quebec, including the Governor General's sister, Nadeje Jean, who accused Jean of going too far in a story she wrote in the Saturday edition of the Montreal Newspaper La Presse.
"You have disregarded your duty to respect the strictly symbolic nature of your position," she wrote. "You have also had the bad taste to put your feet into political waters."
"The next time you are asked to make a toast, avoid speaking out of turn and mocking ... all those who aspire to make Quebec a sovereign country."
[...]
The Governor General's Office has refused to comment on the controversy, only saying that Jean's sister is a member of the Parti Québécois whose comments were clearly made for partisan purposes.
Read more courtesy of the CBC.
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