MTQ removes election signs on Sept-Ills

Three political parties were surprised to see election signs erected on Boulevard Lor by mistake at the request of an employee of the Ministere des Transports du Quebec (MTQ).

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During the night from Saturday to Sunday, volunteers from the Coalition Avenir Quebec, Parti Québécois and Quebec’s Conservative Party displayed their colors on the boulevard, but the work, planned for days, will resume to take advantage of better visibility.

“The next morning, it became clear that all party election signs had been removed by the Ministry of Transport,” said PQ candidate Marilou Vanier.

“It’s very sad and I’m deeply shocked because I was able to mobilize teams of volunteers anyway,” said PCQ candidate Roberto Staea.
“The signs are here, at the ministry building. I won’t get them back. I feel like something is missing without any explanation,” he added.

Candidates do not know what rule they may have broken to justify such an operation by employees of the Ministry of Transport to remove election signs. The directives of the Ministry in this regard are mainly aimed at not compromising road safety.

“[Je suis] This is not the first campaign I have done so I am very surprised. I am a shadow worker, placing markers for Marilyn Gill and others. People are used to seeing signs on the boulevard,” said Marilou Vanier.

The Ministry of Transport has admitted the error and indicates that the removal of the signs was caused by an employee who misunderstood instructions on the election display. The parties have not violated any terms.

“On the other hand, the parties have to reinstall them. We know it’s volunteer time. We’re sorry, but this was really a mistake in good faith,” said Sarah Gaudreault, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transport.

During the 1998 provincial election, the Action Democratic du Québec candidate faced a similar situation. A Ministry of Transport employee mistakenly removed Jacques Gelino’s signs.

Here too, the mistake was admitted and the employees were reminded about the guidelines to be followed during the election campaign.