Olympic: Statement Friday and Heurtel

olympic: Before being first elected in a by-election in 2013 as a Liberal MNA for the Viau riding, Heurtel worked as a political attach for Parti Quebecois Premier Bernard Landry, according to CTV. He also served as the general manager for the Olympic Installations Board in Montreal. Heurtel issued a statement Friday saying there is an illness in his family which has made it impossible for him to contend with the demands of a political life. Heurtel said a key factor in his joining the Liberal Party was the discomfort he felt as the PQ championed its discriminatory Charter of Values, which would have banned the wearing of religious symbols. After becoming immigration minister last October, Heurtel has been praised for how he has handled the influx of asylum seekers entering the province. Heurtel spent two and a half years as environment minister and during that time he was criticized for Flushgate' permitting Montreal's request for a short-term dump of raw sewage into waterways, even though that is a common practice in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.