Pablo Lugo-Herrera, seen in his apartment in Joliette, Que., on Thursday, has begun a hunger strike, making good on an ultimatum he issued to Premier Jean Charest last week.
Pablo Lugo-Herrera, seen in his apartment in Joliette, Que., on Thursday, has begun a hunger strike, making good on an ultimatum he issued to Premier Jean Charest last week.
RYAN REMIORZ/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL—A Quebec man is so eager to see Premier Jean Charest step down that he’s taking an exceptional step to help make it happen: he’s started a hunger strike.
Pablo Lugo Herrera says he’s restricted his diet to tap water since Wednesday morning, making good on an ultimatum he issued to the premier last week.
Like many Quebecers, he had hoped there might be a public inquiry into allegations of rampant corruption in the province’s construction industry. Hee also wanted a moratorium on shale-gas development.
When the premier refused to do either of those things, he sent Charest a letter last week demanding that the premier either change his tune or resign.
“I will (otherwise) start a hunger strike until you either accept the will of the people, or I succumb to my sacrifice,” Lugo Herrera wrote in the letter, dated last Friday.
“If my sacrifice helps end the whims and disrespect of our politicians towards the citizens of my province, I will have died in peace. . .
“We no longer want a government that allows the principal industry of our province to be contaminated by the Mafia.”
His quest comes on the heels of a wildly popular petition demanding Charest’s resignation. The online petition attracted more than 200,000 signatures within several days in November.