ADQ Leader Refuses to Apologize for Calling Charest “Godfather”

Gerard Deltell says the Québec premier is the head of the Liberal family and takes care of his own.

Deltell, who heads the right-of-centre Action démocratique du Québec, infuriated Jean Charest by calling him the Liberal Party’s “godfather” at a speech on Saturday. Charest, the three-term Québec premier, is currently mired in corruption allegations. Deltell’s comments came days after Nicolo Rizzuto, often described as Montreal’s “last godfather,” was murdered. Deltell told reporters yesterday that he would not retract his statement, and went on to accuse Charest of issuing a gag order against Liberals who are critical of his leadership in order to quash internal dissent. Deltell also said he doesn’t fear a lawsuit being filed against him, despite the fact that Charest is already suing former Liberal justice minister Marc Bellemare for defamation.