(Quebec) The Ethics Commissioner concludes that France-Élaine Duranceau “abusively favored the personal interests of her friend” and former business partner, Annie Lemieux, by giving the latter “access privileged” in the government at the start of his mandate as Minister responsible for Housing. The latter now recognizes its “good faith” error and promises to respect the rules in the future.
In December 2022, Mme Duranceau participated in a professional meeting with Mme Lemieux, who then acted as a lobbyist for her and the minister responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger. This meeting was held almost a month after the formation of the council of ministers.
Annie Lemieux, shareholder of several companies active in real estate, had at the time registered as a lobbyist to intervene with Mme Duranceau. The two women were also business partners in three companies.
In her investigation report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, the Ethics Commissioner, Ariane Mignolet, concludes that “the minister played an active and decisive role in acting as the focal point for interventions against his office in the absence of a clear and defined procedure for handling the organization of meetings.
After analysis, she adds that this meeting was “in retrospect not very useful at that time” and that it was “unduly prioritized because of the link between the minister and her friend”.
“A person cannot benefit from direct and privileged access to a minister simply because he or she holds the latter’s personal contact details. It is clear that in the presence of a significant close bond, a watertight boundary must separate the personal and professional spheres of the life of an elected person,” recalls M.me Mignolet.
Duranceau recognizes his imprudence
In June, when the liberal MP Monsef Derraji asked Mme Mignolet to investigate the case of France-Élaine Duranceau, the minister replied that she had “nothing to [se] to reproach “. In the conclusions of her investigation, the Ethics Commissioner writes that the minister recognizes “having acted recklessly and [qu’elle] now understands his mistake.”
“I had a meeting with the Ethics Commissioner. I read his report, which was very enlightening, and I recognized it. I was reckless in that and that is not the way to proceed in politics. I organized a meeting with someone I knew, as I always did in business, [mais] in politics, it doesn’t work like that. It’s an honest mistake and I’m going to do things according to the rules of the art,” declared Mr.me Duranceau upon leaving the Salon bleu.
Since she recognizes her error, Commissioner Mignolet affirms that she “did not consider it appropriate to recommend the imposition of a sanction”. For his part, Prime Minister François Legault believes that it is, according to him, “an error in good faith [qui n’a] had no financial impact.
In office without knowing the rules
According to Mme Mignolet, “too many elected officials take office without mastering or even knowing the main provisions of the code” of ethics.
“It is therefore essential that parliamentarians, especially those who directly become members of the Executive Council, can benefit from training very quickly after taking office. Members of the National Assembly should be made aware in advance of the existence of ethical principles and professional rules specific to the parliamentary environment and political parties have an important responsibility in this regard,” she asserts.
“In the presence of a significant close link between a parliamentarian and a person who wishes to meet him or her, it is imperative to establish effective measures to prevent conflicts of interest,” concludes Ms.me Mignolet.