House leader Jean-Marc Fournier to call it quits
Other veteran politicians announce they're retiring from Quebec politics
Last Updated: Monday, November 3, 2008 | 5:01 PM ET
CBC News
Quebec government house leader Jean-Marc Fournier has announced he will not run for a fifth mandate in the riding of Chateauguay.
Fournier told his constituents this weekend he will not run in the expected provincial election.
"It's time to try something else, to go for other experiences, and we'll see for the future," he said.
Fournier was first elected to the national assembly in 1994 in the riding southwest of Montreal.
He is currently serving as revenue minister under Premier Jean Charest.
Charest is widely expected to call a snap fall election this week.
Other veteran members at the national assembly have announced they are leaving politics.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Benoit Pelletier will also meet with reporters Tuesday, when he's expected to announce his retirement from politics.
Parti Québécois member Maxime Arseneau is also retiring from provincial politics. The Îles de la Madeleine member said he wants to spend more time with his family and grandson.
Arseneau was agriculture minister under PQ premier Lucien Bouchard.
He has served at the national assembly since 1998.
ADQ recruits seasoned legislature correspondent
Former TQS journalist Gérard Deltell is going to run for the Action Démocratique du Québec.
Deltell, who covered the national assembly for many years for the French-language TV network, has announced he’ll run in the Chauveau riding under the ADQ banner.
Deltell said the ADQ is the only party in Quebec interested in debating social issues.
"I believe the ADQ is the best route for necessary changes in Quebec, and that’s why I’m joining them. It’s a question of convictions. We don’t do politics for the pleasure of doing it, we do it because we believe in something, because we have ideas, and projects," he told reporters in Quebec City Monday.
Deltell accused Premier Charest of being irresponsible by cancelling his participation in an economic summit to China to make time for a provincial election.
The riding is currently held by ADQ finance critic Gilles Taillon, who is likely going to run in the Papineau riding, in the Outaouais region.
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