The activist once grabbed by the neck and wrestled to the ground in 1996 by then-prime minister Jean Chrétien is running for office in the Quebec election.
Bill Clennett is running as a candidate for Québec Solidaire, a left-wing sovereigntist party, in western Quebec's Hull riding, which has been held by the Liberals since 1981.
Clennett said the sovereigntist Parti Québécois has turned its back on its socially progressive roots, and his party is trying to fill the gap.
He said he hopes they will gain some attention and attract enough votes to secure public funding for the next Quebec election.
"We'd like to believe that we could generate some interest from people who have sort of dropped out to some extent — they are no longer voting," he said. "There's an incredible, dangerous growth in people who are just outside of the system."
Clennett's famous encounter with Chrétien happened on Feb. 15, 1996, when Clennett was protesting planned cuts to unemployment insurance at the commemoration of Canada's first National Flag Day in Hull, Que., which is now part of Gatineau.
Video footage showed that Chrétien was approached by Clennett, and the prime minister appeared to grab the protester by the neck and push him to the ground.
Later, Chrétien said he was not quite sure what happened.
"Some people came in my way … I had to go so if you're in my way, I'm walking," he said. "So I don't know what happened … something to somebody [who] should not have been there."
Clennett made headlines again in 1999 when he threw balloons full of red paint on Langevin Block, the Ottawa building that houses the Prime Minister's Office.
He was later fined $500 and placed on probation.
Cholette's counting questioned
Clennett is running against Liberal incumbent Roch Cholette, who was criticized for apparently presenting inflated statistics about his achievements in office while launching his campaign Thursday.
Cholette claimed that 20 new doctors started practicing in the Outaouais since 2003, but Quebec's ministry of health figures show only 7.
Cholette also said 900 units of low-income housing have been renovated or built since 2003, which is disputed by housing advocacy group Logemen'occupe.
Spokesman François Roy said his numbers show 326 low-income units have been added to the region since 2002, with 177 scheduled to become available in the coming months.
Related
| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIB | 48 | 0 | 48 | 33.08% |
| ADQ | 41 | 0 | 41 | 30.80% |
| PQ | 36 | 0 | 36 | 28.32% |
| QS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.65% |
| GRN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.89% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .26% |
| Last Update:March 27, 12:52:21 AM EDT | ||||
Quebec Votes 2007 Headlines »
- Que. Liberals take minority win with grain of salt
- Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he'll build bridges with the Parti Québécois and the Action Démocratique du Québec to ensure a stable minority government.
- Dumont will work with Quebec Premier Charest
- Quebec's new Opposition Leader Mario Dumont said he wants stability at the national assembly and pledged to work with the Liberal minority government on a case-by-case basis.
- Boisclair remains at helm after PQ finishes 3rd
- André Boisclair is staying on as leader of the Parti Québécois and vowed to help rebuild the fractured party after it suffered major losses in Monday's provincial election.
- Quebec election result 'good news' for Canada: PM
- Stephen Harper says voters in the Quebec election have used their ballots to reject calls for another referendum in a "great result" for Canada.
- Charest keeps seat as Liberals cling to power in Quebec
- Quebecers are waking up to a minority Liberal government — the first minority in the province in 130 years — and a new official Opposition.