Quebec election: We can't believe HE said:

Early in the campaign, Action democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont is forced to fire two candidates, one for scoffing at violence against women and the other for suggesting Quebecers need to make more babies to avoid being overwhelmed by "ethnics."

Radio host Louis Champagne of CKRS, a station in Saguenay separatist heartland, declares Parti Quebecois resembles "un club de tapettes." Tapette is French equivalent of "fag."

Boisclair comes under fire for using French equivalent of the term "slanting eyes" - les yeux brides (bree-day) - to describe Asian students, and refuses to apologize for it. There is debate about whether his comments are as insulting in French as in English, though many Asian-Canadians find it offensive. His party also defends candidate whose book questioned extent of 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Dumont says Quebec must stop bending over backwards to accommodate religious minorities: "We must make gestures which reinforce our national identity and protect those values which are so invaluable to us." His poll numbers start to creep up in rural areas with his stance.