Pig, liar, buffoon, yes-man ... weather vane?
'Girouette' latest word banned from Quebec's national assembly
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 | 5:04 PM ET
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ADQ Leader Mario Dumont has weathered Premier Jean Charest's name-calling in recent weeks, and says he doesn't take it to heart.
"I guess we have much endurance to stuff like that, and we don't take it personally," the Action Démocratique du Québec head said Wednesday.
The Liberal premier has repeatedly called Dumont a girouette, saying he changes his opinions like a weather vane shifts with the wind.
On Tuesday, Charest did it again, calling Dumont Quebec's girouette nationale during the first question period of the fall session.
Quebec legislature president Michel Bissonnet called it a hurtful comment and banned the word from the floor.
Dumont said he's concerned name-calling is a weapon of mass distraction that eats up time that could be used to discuss policy.
"It's not too promising, for great debates during the session," he said.
Weather vane now joins clown, pig, liar, yes-man and buffoon on the banned-word list.
But the blacklist only applies to question period – and Charest trotted out the term again on Wednesday outside a Liberal caucus meeting.
"The reality is, he's a weather vane," the premier told reporters in French.
The Liberals weren't the only ones to name-call on Tuesday.
The PQ gave the name Good Times Charlie to Economic Development Minister Raymond Bachand for having a too-positive outlook on the job market.
Bachand let the comment roll.
"When you don't have any arguments, you start name-calling," he said.
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