Two investigators from Élections Québec spent Thursday in Saguenay investigating Mayor Julie Dufour following allegations that Julie Dufour asked Jean-Marc Crevier and Serge Simard to withdraw from the race during the last election campaign.
It’s possible that the mayor herself will be hit at some point. Investigators first went to the house of city councilor Jean-Marc Crevier at around 9:45 a.m. to receive his statement.
“To see that they are starting the investigation shows the seriousness of the matter, that they are taking it seriously,” said Jean-Marc Crevier.
Mayor Dufour was the subject of an initial complaint to the Quebec Director General of Elections (DGEQ).
With a view to the November 2021 elections, she would have offered Jean-Marc Crevier a job in the city administration if he had given up running for mayor of Saguenay.
A second complaint was filed by 2021 mayoral candidate Serge Simard, who also claimed to have received a similar proposal from Julie Dufour.
Investigators met with Mr. Crevier for nearly two hours. They were stingy with comments upon their exit and would not confirm that they would eventually meet the mayor of Saguenay.
“I’ll let you find out,” an investigator told TVA Nouvelles.
Jean-Marc Crevier says he has received information that Ms Dufour will be invited to present her version.
“Yes, but they (the investigators) didn’t tell me at what point in the process,” he said after their departure. “I think they will meet all the witnesses first.”
In the afternoon, the investigators also met with the complainant Simard.
“I just wanted to clarify everything,” he told TVA Nouvelles after the discussion. “Jean-Marc Crevier said he received an offer and I received one too… They didn’t tell me anything about a timetable. They just told me it could take three months, maybe six months.”
Mayor Julie Dufour declined to comment on this development. Last week she said: “It’s not necessarily because there’s an investigation because there’s a complaint. In Quebec we are innocent until proven guilty.”