MONTREAL - The elusive, newly-elected New Democrat who made headlines for going to Las Vegas during the election campaign has finally given an interview.
Ruth Ellen Brosseau told a newspaper in her Quebec riding that her victory came as a shock but that she is very excited about the opportunity.
Brosseau said in the interview with Trois-Rivieres' Le Nouvelliste published Saturday that she will quit her job as an assistant manager at an Ottawa bar and devote herself to the new job.
"It was unexpected but I'm very excited to work for the New Democrats," she said.
She admitted she has never visited the riding Berthier-Maskinonge but plans to visit soon.
In a halting interview conducted almost entirely in English, the single mother said she is trying to improve her French so she can better serve her mostly francophone constituents.
Brosseau came under fire for her vacation during the campaign, but there are also questions about whether signatures on her nomination papers were falsified.
She said the party's nomination process followed the rules.
"Campaign workers collected the signatures the appropriate way and the signatures were approved by Elections Canada," she said.
Brosseau said the trip to Las Vegas was for her birthday and she couldn't cancel it.
The interview was Brosseau's first since the election despite a plethora of media requests.
