Liberal and CAQ candidates drop out of upcoming byelection in Louis-Hbert

Both the Coalition Avenir Qubecand the Liberal candidates in the upcoming byelection in the Quebec City riding of Louis-Hbert dropped out of the race on Wednesday.

The Liberal candidate,ricTtrault, stepped down from the race after apologizingpublicly for "unacceptable behaviour" in his previous job at themining companyArcelorMittal.

"I offer my regrets andmy apologies. Even if the complaints weren't upheld, that doesn't mean I wasn't a bit rough and abrasive with people," said Ttrault, who also formerly served as the communications director to premier Jean Charest.

The apology came after La Pressereported that Ttrault had been the subject of complaints about alleged psychological harassmentwhen he served as director of communications at ArcelorMittalin 2014.

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The report prompted an emergency meeting between Ttrault and top Liberal officials Wednesday afternoon and ultimately, his resignation.

Then, later in the afternoon, CAQ candidateNormand Sauvageaudropped out of the race.

In a statement, Sauvageausaid he received a call earlier in the day from a journalist, who had questions surrounding his early retirement in 2016. More than a year ago, he wrote, Sauvageauretired under "difficult labour relations circumstances" and had not been transparent with his party about what had happened.

His LinkedIn and Twitter page said he worked at Scotiabank for 39 years.

CAQ Leader Franois Legault didn't delve into details, but on Twitter he wrote that "at the CAQ, it's zero tolerance. I acted as soon as I found out."

Legault said he would announce a new candidate soon.

Ttrault, for his part, said he took the decision to bow out of the race after speaking with his family.

"I spoke to my son, who is seven years old,at around 4:30 p.m., and I saw that even at such a young age, he was burdened," he said.

"It's not fun for him, for my wife nor for my other young son. So I told myself, 'We are not doing this. We are putting an end to this now.'"

ThebyelectioninLouis-Hbertis slated for Oct. 2.

Unacceptable behaviour, report finds

La Pressereported thatArcelorMittalhired an independent investigator to look into Ttrault'sbehaviour following complaints from employees.

The investigation concluded that Ttraulthad psychologically harassed two female employees, that his behaviour was unacceptableand thathe had created a difficult work environment.

When La Presseconfronted Ttrault on Tuesday, he downplayed it.But hechanged his tune when speaking to Radio-Canada Wednesday morning.

He admitted his behaviour was unacceptable and could be interpreted as "psychological harassment," even if ArcelorMittalultimately didn't come to that conclusion.

The mining companydid not return a request for comment from CBC News on Wednesday.

Opposition has already targeted Ttrault

Ttrault hadalready come under fire from opposition parties for his behavior when he served as communications director to former premier Jean Charest from 2008 to 2010.

He admittedhe attended a ClineDion concert at the Bell centre in 2008 in a private box paid for by construction entrepreneur LinoZambito, who was later found guilty of fraud.

He also admittedhe's been contacted by the province's anti-corruption unit, UPAC, about itsfraud investigation into former deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau.

Ttraultexplained earlier this month thathe left the ClineDionconcert quickly after he realized that nature of the invitation to the private box. He also said he's ready to testify at Normandeau's trial if called to do so.