Québec Solidaire changed its mind after inviting the media to cover the conclusion of its race for co-speaker in November, for fees never before charged for a political convention in Quebec.
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During their congress scheduled for November 24-26, 2023 in Gatineau, Quebec’s Solidaire activists will elect the person who will replace Manon Massé as the party’s female co-spokesperson. They will also vote on the reappointment of Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois as male co-speaker. For him it will be a kind of vote of confidence since he has no opponent for the office.
In an initial version of the accreditation form sent to journalists in preparation for this congress, QS requested the payment of fees totaling $623 for media with cameras and then $104 for written or radio media.
Specifically, the party charged $17.50 for media credentials and $86.50 for access to an office, Wi-Fi and a printer.
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Fees are waived
After journalists on social networks pointed out that this was a novelty, the party initially partially changed its mind on Friday and canceled the fees for print and broadcast media.
A new version of the accreditation form continued to impose a fee of $517 per medium with a camera or $345 for access to a group broadcast platform ($345) and wired Internet access in the chamber ($172).
This morning QS decided to cancel all fees. “Finally, we decided to stop charging separate fees for packed lunches,” confirmed the party’s communications director, Gabrielle Brais-Harvey, explaining that his organization decided to do the same when it learned that certain federal parties were charging such costs .
Journalist lunch boxes containing a sandwich, salad and dessert will therefore remain at $35 and a hot meal will remain at $40.
Québec Solidaire’s about-face with the parliamentary press comes as the party has been heavily criticized in numerous media outlets for its Facebook advertisements during the Jean-Talon by-election.
The Coalition Avenir Québec and the Parti Québécois, which have maintained the advertising boycott respected by several parties since Meta blocked news on their platforms, took the opportunity to accuse QS of lack of solidarity with the media.
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