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TROIS-RIVIÈRES — It happened on questions of sovereignty, on revising the labour code to ban scab workers and on his ownership of Québecor.

Parti Québécois leadership candidates put front-runner Pierre Karl Péladeau’s feet to the fire in a first debate Wednesday.

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Their favourite themes? His past and his current habit of dealing with issues in the most superficial manner.

But Péladeau was not particularly forthcoming.

I don’t think it’s relevant that I talk about Québecor

“I don’t think it’s relevant that I talk about Québecor,” Péladeau said at one point as candidate Pierre Céré got off a nasty shot asking if the company Péladeau still owns had ever made use of tax havens to hide profits.

“I am no longer at Québecor.”

But the sparks really flew between Péladeau and candidate Bernard Drainville, who challenged him almost off the top of the debate to reveal what his plan would be if he can’t hold a referendum in a first mandate of a PQ government.