Ex-PQ leader Andre Boisclair pleads not guilty to two sexual assault charges

MONTREAL — Former Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair entered not guilty pleas to two counts of sexual assault on Tuesday in relation to allegations dating to 2014.

The ex-politician was not present at the Montreal courthouse but was represented by his lawyer.

Boisclair is accused of sexual assault with the participation of another person and sexual assault with a weapon.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred on or around Jan. 8, 2014 in Montreal.

No one else has been charged in relation to the alleged assault, despite the fact Boisclair is accused of sexual assault with the participation of a third party.

Crown prosecutor Luc Page submitted evidence to Boisclair’s lawyer, Nicolas St-Jacques and said the defence will have time to study the documents before the case returns to court Sept. 14.

Boisclair served as leader of the PQ from November 2005 until his resignation in May 2007.

He was later Quebec’s delegate general in New York from 2012 to 2013, and was president of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec from 2016 until his arrest.

Boisclair was elected for the first time in the Montreal riding of Gouin in 1989, when we was just 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2020.

The Canadian Press