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The employee who came in contact with the envelope complained of nausea and headaches and was transported to hospital, according to reports published by TVA.

Quebec’s provincial police confirmed that the substance was harmless. No information was available on the other envelopes.

According to a spokesman for Bernier, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, his Beauce constituency office received a suspicious envelope Thursday that seemed to contain powder. They put it in a sealed plastic bag and handed it to Quebec police.

No one in his office was injured or taken to hospital. The office was evacuated and was to remain closed until further notice by police.

Another envelope containing white powder was found in the Thetford Mines riding office of Paradis, who is International Development Minister.

A spokesman for Paradis said a staff member at the minister’s office opened the package at about 12:30 p.m., at which point she saw the powder. Police were called and the staff member was taken to hospital as a precaution. The minister was with family and not in the office at the time.

While nobody at the Levis office of Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney was in contact with mail, police removed a suspicious envelope, said provincial police spokesman Richard Gagne.

Blaney, who has been spearheading the Conservative government’s anti-terrorism legislation, released a statement Thursday afternoon confirming that envelopes “containing suspicious powder substances” were received by some Quebec MPs.

“The safety of cabinet ministers, members of Parliament and their staff is a primary concern at all times,” said Blaney.

“We thank the Sûreté du Québec and local law-enforcement for their swift response.”

Gagne refused to confirm if written messages were included in any of the envelopes.

With files from Michael Woods, Ottawa Citizen, and The Canadian Press

mkennedy@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/Mark_Kennedy_