“Strategic Advice”: A volunteer sends an invoice to PCQ for $40,000

A pro bono Conservative activist billed the party $40,000 for strategic advice during the election campaign, claiming Eric Duhaime had an endorsement. However, party workers deny any agreement and deny the claim.

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On August 10, 2022, the Conservative Party of Quebec received a message from an activist named Jonathan Hamel asking them to “budget” and “re-sign” a service contract worth $40,000, as discussed with Eric. QMI Agency was able to contact.

At the PCQ, the lights turned red, a member of the party leadership explains. “Eric really didn’t want to pay someone $40,000 for a month’s work. He wants to manage the finances of the party very strictly.

Refusal to pay

After the confirmation, the committee responsible for approving the expenses finally refused to sign the contract and pay this money to Mr. Hamel. According to the person responsible for approving this type of agreement, contrary to what the activist indicated in his email, this remuneration did not have the consent of the party leader.

“I confirmed that there was a level of negotiation that I was not aware of, which was not the case,” confides the employee, who prefers not to be identified due to the tense atmosphere in the PCQ at the moment.

“In my discussions with Eric, it was agreed that Mr. Hamel would not be paid and that he would be volunteering. That was the information I had at the time,” he said.

discussion

However, Jonathan Hamel claims that he has discussed this salary with Eric Duhaime. “That’s right,” he said when we asked him if the $40,000 compensation had actually been discussed with the PCQ leader.

“We had a discussion, but then, in the heat of the campaign, we agreed on something else,” Mr Hamel added.

Eric Duhaime declined our interview requests, but he responded through his press officer. “Jonathan wanted to run the campaign and get paid, but we didn’t agree. There was no deal, only negotiations. The invoice was never approved,” it said.

burning cloth

In addition to campaigning for PCQ, Jonathan Hammel is a regular contributor to The Jeff Fillion Show, where he comments on politics.

Sources call him a ‘highly motivated volunteer’ – though his role in the party is unclear. A PCQ employee commented that his radio platform made him “a kind of influencer” from which the party “was able to benefit in some way”.

On social networks and in his radio interventions, Mr. Hamel is, by his own admission, “very vocal” against some members of the PCQ leadership, whom he accuses of harming the party and “leaking information” with the intention of “discrediting” it. “Harm.

Earlier this week, the sun Mr. Hamel was reported as the subject of official notice, ordered to produce “a list of all donors, members and sympathizers of the Conservative Party of Quebec” and to destroy any copy of the said document. According to PCQ, Mr. Hamel owns this list. On his part, the principal concerned denied the allegations leveled against him.

But why would the party go after a simple volunteer? According to Jonathan Hamel, he strongly criticizes the PCQ leadership for its “incompetence” and a certain “ideological incompatibility”.