Disappointed at not having been appointed minister, Youri Chassin decides to join the ranks

Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press

QUEBEC — CAQ MP Youri Chassin confirmed Wednesday that he is disappointed not to have been appointed minister.

He took a « step back » in the last few days to « put things into perspective in order to undertake this mandate with vigor and good humor », he wrote on Twitter.

Mr. Chassin is one of the deputies whose absence from the ministers’ swearing-in ceremony last week was noticed.

« I will not hide my disappointment at not having been called, » said Mr. Chassin, who for two years had been parliamentary assistant to the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.

He nevertheless chose to fall into line, saying he was “proud” to be part of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) team, which received “a strong mandate to continue to move Quebec forward”.

“Like all CAQ MNAs, I want to contribute to it to the best of my abilities,” said the MNA for Saint-Jérôme. I want to put my shoulder to the wheel to change Quebec.”

Called to react, Prime Minister François Legault said he understood the disappointment of Mr. Chassin and the other deputies who were not chosen to be part of the cabinet.

« Youri has all the qualities to be a minister, but at some point, you have to make choices that are heartbreaking, » said Mr. Legault at a press briefing at the National Assembly.

« There are a number of deputies who are right to be disappointed, because they had the qualities to be ministers, but hey, » he added.

Mr. Legault said he had not spoken to Mr. Chassin since the formation of the cabinet. Last week, he had warned his troops that he would not tolerate family « chicanes ».

The Legault cabinet has 30 ministers: 16 men and 14 women. On October 3, the CAQ elected no less than 90 deputies.

Before his arrival in politics, Mr. Chassin notably served as director of research at the Montreal Economic Institute (IEDM).