Quebec Liberal Party Leader Philippe Couillard.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
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When he was Quebec Liberal leader, Jean Charest had no misgivings about personally knocking on the doors of companies to collect money for his party.
In fact, as opposition leader Mr. Charest accompanied by his chief fundraiser and influential businessman Marc Bibeau would go up and down the floors of the Montreal tower where his office was located to solicit contributions from the heads of companies.
Even after he became premier, Mr. Charest would pressure his ministers to collect $100,000 a year even though critics argued it could make them vulnerable to influence peddling.
But going door to door to company offices was something unheard of coming from a major party leader. The events were recorded in Mr. Charest's 2001 daily agenda, a partial copy of which was obtained by the Montreal newspaper La Presse. The revelations raised questions about the close ties certain construction, engineering and legal firms enjoyed with the Liberal party. And it recalled how during the Charbonneau Commission into corruption some circumvented the law by using fake names to make illegal corporate contributions to the party.
Asked to comment about his predecessor's odd fundraising practices, newly elected Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard said he knew nothing about it and that it was something he never did. And then he added unexpectedly: "I never did anything illegal."
The comment fuelled the perception that under Mr. Charest the Liberals were involved in questionable practices. And it was taken as an indication of just how much Mr. Couillard wants to break with the old Liberal ways and breathe new life into a party that is out remake its image in time for the next election.
In an internal document sent to party executive members, Mr. Couillard explained that with the changing of the guard the Liberals must once again become "the most ethical party, the most competent, the most innovative, the most inclusive" in Quebec.
In his internal document, Mr. Couillard proposes to adopt a new code of ethics, create an independent think tank or a sort of "public policy institute" that would work outside the party structure to provoke public debates and spawn new liberal ideas and values.
Mr. Couillard also called for a renewed decentralized party where the next leader would be chosen by all members and could even allow for a new category of "sympathizing" members to participate in the vote. He proposed to launch an online Liberal party newspaper to allow dissenting voices to express their ideas and give local riding associations more input in the decision-making process.
The new leader has no choice but to propose what he hopes will appear to be a complete makeover. The Liberals need to prepare for the post-Charbonneau Commission era. They want to orchestrate a break from the Charest years. If the Charbonneau inquiry paints the Parti Québécois with the same brush as the Liberals, then Mr. Couillard, in projecting himself as the new face of modern liberalism, will have an even better chance at making a clean break from his party's past.
The Liberals faces a new reality, or as Mr. Couillard called it "a turning point" in their history. The Liberals must adapt to changes to the Election Act which have dramatically revamped the fundraising rules. The maximum contribution a voter can make to a political party was slashed from $1,000 to $100 a year. At $100, it makes it difficult for companies to use the names of employees and family members to camouflage illegal corporate contributions. While prohibited since 1977, the Charbonneau Commission heard testimony about how widespread the illegal corporate donations had become and how it had turned into the Liberals' single most important source of revenue.
All of that has suddenly come to an abrupt end, which is why rank and file members have become so important. They are counted on to bring in new recruits, collect funds and conduct the vital groundwork which the party failed miserably to accomplish during last winter's subdued leadership race.
Mr. Couillard has set mid-2014 to meet the challenge of rebuilding the party, just in time for what is expected to be another provincial election. Few predict the Parti Québécois minority government will survive past next spring. And if the Liberals believe they can win, the thirst for power more than any reform proposed by Mr. Couillard or any recruitment or fundraising drive will be the single most important motivating force behind the party's so-called "transformation."
Rhéal Séguin covers the provincial legislature in Quebec City.