The hunt for out-of-date political posters is on

"We've noticed a hunt for posters," said a Ville de Laval spokesperson Tuesday, the day after an article on the subject appeared in print.

"A lot of them have been removed," admitted PQ political attaché Manuel Dionne. The rest of the (posters) should be removed "in the next few days," he stated on Tuesday.

Mr. Dionne denied that this rush by Pauline Marois' party was linked to media pressure. "Absolutely not! We were aware of the problem. Party militants had told us about it."

In Laval, a city by-law goes further, stipulating that any signs left in public places or city lots can be removed 10 days after the day of the vote. "We do it if there's no cooperation from the party," hinted Marc Laforge. "What happens in real time is that city workers who drive by the signs usually take them down."

In the last few weeks, employees of the Laval Public Works Department have removed some of the signs, notes Francis Desjardins of the Syndicat des cols bleus (Union of Blue Collar Workers) de Laval.

The city had decided to finish the job, before the PQ woke up to the problem. "We had scheduled three or four crews to remove the (rest of the) signs today (Wednesday), but the order was cancelled," Mr. Desjardins explained.

"All our signs have been removed," assured ADQ Director-General Simon-Pierre Diamond, Wednesday. Alhtough he admitted that a number of posters were still up in other places, Laval was spared the delay, he claimed. At the Green Party, the 100 signs put up and taken down by each of the 80 candidates throughout Quebec were kept for the next election. Liberal Party communications director Michel Rochette boasts of being the first party to remove all posters, an easier task from 2007 since the signs amounted to 60% less in total. As well, all Liberal posters were 100% recyclable, printed with vegetable ink.

"In my riding, I had 1,000," said Simon-Pierre Diamond, former ADQ MNA for Marguerite –D'Youville. It's enormous and a problematic situation that demands reflection."

According to Mr. Diamond, between 50,000 and 75,000 ADQ posters went up all over Quebec in the last campaign. The PQ was reluctant to provide figures to Courrier Laval for posters it put up during the 2008 campaign.

At the ADQ, as at the PQ and Green Party, all plastic corrugated (Coroplast) political posters are said to be recycled. They are turned over to schools, day cares, or community groups who reuse them in various ways.

At the Green Party, the 100 signs put up and taken down by each of the 80 candidates throughout Quebec were kept for the next election. Liberal Party communications director Michel Rochette boasts of being the first party to remove all posters, an easier task from 2007 since the signs amounted to 60% less in total. As well, all Liberal posters were 100% recyclable, printed in vegetable ink.

"In my riding, I had 1,000," said Simon-Pierre Diamond, former ADQ MNA for Marguerite –D'Youville. It's enormous and a problematic situation that demands reflection."

According to Mr. Diamond, between 50,000 and 75,000 ADQ posters went up all over Quebec in the last campaign. The PQ was reluctant to provide figures to Courrier Laval for posters it put up during the 2008 campaign.