One advantage of my being a simple blogger, instead of a respectable journalist, is the ability to entertain wild speculations out of very little evidence. Tonight I joined my twin brother, my sister and my father to celebrate his 68th birthday at Le Paris Beurre, an excellent French restaurant in Outremont. I was enjoying my cassoulet when I noticed a familiar face leaving the back room and going out into the cold night. It was Louis Bernard, who came in 4th at the last Parti Quebecois leadership race in 2005.

Shortly afterward, we saw Pierre Charbonneau another longtime PQ member, former MNA and speaker of the Quebec legislature. That’s when we realized that something was up and we all felt an intense need to go to the bathroom and to check out what was going on back there.

The back room was filled with PQ “tetes grises”, old party hands easily recognizable to anyone who’s been watching the news for the past 20 years. I instantly recognized Louise Harel and maybe even former PM Bernard Landry.

This might have been something as simple as an annual meeting of PQ old timers but the impending elections and the recent reevaluation of Andre Boisclair’s leadership have certainly helped to stimulate our late dinner conversations.

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1. Stuff happening pre, post and during Pop Montreal
2. Preparing youself for Yulbog Survivor
3. To Understand The Seasons Here, Watch The Birds
4. A festival, a perfect summer day - quintessential Montreal
5. When pigs fly; or, A by-election update