Tory would forgo signs and donate cash
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 6, 2005 | 12:38 PM ET
CBC News
Gaston Langlais has decided not to put up any election signs during the campaign and is calling on his opponents to do the same.
Langlais is asking his party to donate the $4,000 earmarked for the signs to breakfast programs for schools in the area.
"We know that at certain times of the month, parents are short on cash. Often, little children are going to school without breakfast in the morning," he said.
"We could offer this gift to them before Christmas. So, if the Liberal party and the Bloc did the same, we're talking about a budget of $14,000," Langlais said.
Bloc Québécois candidate Raynald Blais, who is seeking re-election, says the idea is nothing more than a stunt.
"I have the impression that this is a diversional tactic to fix financial problems within the Conservative party," Blais said.
Liberal hopeful Mario Lévesque is refusing to comment.
The organizer for the Conservative party in Quebec, Pierre Coulombe, confirmed Langlais's request and says a decision will soon be made on whether to accept it.
Coulombe says although the cause is laudable, it's a tough decision to have to make now that the campaign is underway.
