Embattled Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette says he was the victim of a setup by Quebec's anti-corruption police.
Ouellette spoke about his dramatic arrest last Thursday by UPAC officers for a few minutes in the National Assembly on Tuesday, suggesting the accusations made against him are false, and that UPAC is trying to intimidate him.
Several reports last week suggested Ouellette's arrest came as part of an investigation into the leak last spring of some secret UPAC documents — though UPAC's statement the following day would only suggest the investigation had to do with obstruction of justice and breach of trust.
"Forbidding members of the National Assembly to exercise the mandate given to them by the population is a grave attack on the democratic process," Ouellette told the Assembly. "Dragging them into a trap to prevent them from doing their work needs to be condemned unequivocally."
Ouellette has, for the moment, stepped down from the Quebec Liberal caucus.
Meanwhile, before Ouellette spoke, the speaker of the Assembly, Jacques Chagnon, rushed to the defence of his colleagues.
Without naming Ouellette, Chagnon said it was "intolerable" that a member of the Assembly was arrested without a hint as to why, and without any charges being laid.
"Today, an MNA lost an important job, and his reputation has been stained," he said, to applause from both sides of the chamber. "I believe we need to demand that clarity on this situation needs to happen on an urgent basis. Charges need to be laid, or apologies need to be given."
Meanwhile, UPAC responded at a late-afternoon news conference, suggesting the arrest was made as part of an investigation into leaks which it said jeopardized UPAC's work on another investigation. It wouldn't say if Ouellette would, or could, be eventually charged with a crime, but it "vehemently" denied Ouellette's charges of intimidation.