On March 31, 2003, an article was published in the Trois-Rivières newspaper Le Nouvelliste claiming that the former Parti Québécois (PQ) leader, Jacques Parizeau, had reiterated his controversial statement that the 1995 referendum failed due to "money and the ethnic vote."
During the debate, Charest surprised Landry on live television by presenting the article and questioning whether the PQ leader shared his predecessor's views.
In response, the PQ attempted to denounce Charest's actions as an attack on Parizeau's reputation and dignity, denying that he had repeated his comments.
[1] Meanwhile, Landry addressed the issue at several press conferences, stating that he did not agree with Parizeau's unfortunate comments in 1995.
However, these efforts did not entirely protect the party from backlash, and the debacle was speculated to have hurt Landry's campaign.