Headlines from this weeks SPEC

Feb. 10, 2002

A Gaspesian team will enter the Harricana Raid
Gilles Gagne

MARIA - A team sponsored by GaspŽsie Poly-Tour, a Maria-based snowmobile rental firm, will enter the Harricana Raid, from February 23 to March 2nd between Shawinigan and Quebec City. It is the first Gaspesian team to participate in that event, held in 1990, 1991 and 1992 before a ten year halt.

The raid will cover more than 2,000 kilometers, 90 percent of it outside the trails, and links mostly Native communities, in order to enhance their development in tourism. Competitors from about ten countries will try to win the event, based on the number of points and the time taken to cover the distance. More than a dozen sport networks, most of them from Europe, will follow the raid.

Duguay to Undergo Psychiatric Evaluation
Charlene Eden

Jean-Roch Duguay appeared in a Perce courtroom on January 30 as a result of his actions at the CSST in Gaspe. Duguay, a 40-year-old man from Chandler, entered the regional office with a hunting rifle on January 29 to express his discontent about their services.

Seven different charges have been brought against Duguay, including threatening the security of others, dangerous use of a firearm, storing, transporting and handling of a firearm contrary to regulations, negligence, and obstruction of a workplace and its employees.

Steeve LeBlanc wins the presidency of Liberals' Youth Commission
Gilles Gagne

NEW RICHMOND - A New Richmond native, Steeve LeBlanc, a law student at Laval University, is the new president of Quebec Liberal Party's Youth Commission, since February 1st. Mr. LeBlanc won the position by acclamation at a Liberal Convention held in Sherbrooke.

Steeve LeBlanc learned a few days before Christmas that Isabelle Merizzi, then president of the Youth Commission, was leaving in order to go back studying. LeBlanc promptly decided to verify if he would get enough support to have a good chance to win an election for the position.

"You need support province-wide to win such an election. And I found out that people were willing to do it", he explains. He describes himself as a strong defender of the interests of the regions such as the Gaspe Peninsula.