(Quebec) The elected members of the National Assembly are not sufficiently aware and informed about the ethical issues that concern them, argues the ethics commissioner, Ariane Mignolet, who is asking that training on the subject become mandatory.
Mme Mignolet is also categorical on this issue. “Training is not compulsory and that is problematic. It is an aberration. […] Training must become compulsory. It’s unavoidable,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The commissioner is not idle with the elected members of the Coalition avenir Québec. The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, underwent six investigations and received three reprimands.
Currently, the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, are both under investigation by the commissioner.
Ariane Mignolet maintains that the majority of elected officials who put themselves in problematic situations in terms of ethics do so out of ignorance of the rules rather than out of bad intentions. “Too often, we arrive at a post and we say to ourselves: “What? There is this. I didn’t know that,'” she says.
“Each newly elected official and each member of the political staff should know the rules that apply to their situation. […] The aim of the training is to develop a certain ethical reflex,” adds the commissioner.
Mme Mignolet explains that since the beginning of the new legislature, his institution has taken a much more proactive approach to encourage elected officials to take training. Since the 2022 election, 42 MPs have attended at least one training session, according to his office.
Keep your distance from politics
The Ethics Commissioner is aware that her work can be used for partisan purposes. This is why she makes sure that there are tangible elements on which she can rely before launching an investigation.
“You have to show that you have reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a breach. The objective is not to embark on fishing trips, ”she explains.
And when an investigation report is filed, it happens that it is criticized. For example, after the filing of its last report on Pierre Fitzgibbon – in which he was cleared – the three opposition parties suggested that the code of ethics of the National Assembly should be modified.
At that time, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said, “I read the commissioner’s decision. And while I respect his power and skill, I do not share his conclusions. »
However, in December 2020, when the commissioner blamed Mr. Fitzgibbon a second time, it was the turn of the chief caquiste François Legault to suggest modifying the code.
Mme Mignolet keeps a distance from what is said about his work. “I don’t take it personal […] That’s the job. There will always be someone happy and someone unhappy,” she says.
The commissioner adds that each report, regardless of its conclusions, is a “great educational tool” that makes it possible to make the rules known.
“Whether we agree or not, there are lessons that come out of these reports and it snowballs and sheds light on certain issues […] It’s never useless,” she says.
Despite everything, the commissioner is open to having the code amended, not to make it lighter, but to give it more flexibility.
“Since everything is a matter of context, the commissioner should perhaps have a little more leeway,” she explains, adding that the current code works “very well.”