Prime Minister François Legault said Friday that he was unaware of the ties of friendship between his Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and an aspiring judge when his appointment was approved by the Council of Ministers.
Mr. Legault commented on the publication of a report from the daily The sunrevealing that Charles-Olivier Gosselin, appointed on May 3 to the position of judge at the Court of Quebec, is a personal friend of the minister. “I didn’t know that, I found out about it in the paper this morning,” he said on the sidelines of a visit to a tulip-growing facility.
The Prime Minister said there is no rule preventing a minister from nominating a friend. He also said that he does not inquire about personal ties in the appointments submitted by his ministers. “There are many appointments that are adopted by the Council of Ministers and the only question I ask is whether the rules were followed,” said Mr. Legault, also saying that he did not know whether Mr. Jolin-Barrette appointed other friends to the bench.
Such an important appointment should not raise any discomfort
The Prime Minister came to the defense of the current process to eliminate any appearance of conflict of interest. “How can we speak of a conflict of interest when people are chosen by an independent committee? »
Mr. Legault argued that an independent committee makes one, two or three proposals to the Minister of Justice, who then decides which name will be submitted to the Council of Ministers, the final stage of the judicial appointment process.
The Post-it saga
The Prime Minister referred to the changes made following the Bastarache commission, mandated in 2010 due to a controversy over the links between the Liberal Party of Quebec and the appointment of magistrates by the Charest government. “Before, we know how it worked, there was a Post-it and we said “this person is a supporter of such a party, we should name him”. It doesn’t work the same anymore. There is an independent committee that does the sorting, which meets the different candidates and a maximum of three names are submitted. »
Mr. Legault defended the competence of the new magistrate, who studied law with Mr. Jolin-Barrette. “We cannot say that because this person is known to the minister […] she should not be named,” he explained.
According to the Prime Minister, the rules currently in force are sufficient to protect the appointments of judges from any appearance of conflict of interest. “I think the rules are sufficient since the Bastarache commission. »
Judge Gosselin, appointed to the Criminal Division of the Court of Quebec, and Mr. Jolin-Barrette have known each other since university and still see each other once or twice a year, reported The sun. Mr. Jolin-Barrette also celebrated the marriage of his friend in 2015.
Liberal MP André Morin, justice critic, said the minister has a moral obligation to raise no doubts about the appointments he submits to Cabinet. “Such an important appointment should not cause any discomfort,” he said, without however questioning the skills of the candidate or the impartiality of the Court of Quebec.
Big weekend ahead
Mr. Legault thus kicked off an important weekend for the Coalition avenir Québec, whose activists meet in convention in Sherbrooke on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite this new controversy involving his Minister of Justice, which comes after the decisions to give up the Quebec-Lévis highway tunnel and then to increase the remuneration of deputies by 30%, the CAQ leader confided his feverishness about the vote of confidence to which he is will submit at the end of the week. “When you govern, you make decisions, you can disappoint people. But I trust that people will support me,” he said.
Regarding the increase in the salaries of elected officials, Mr. Legault said he was confident that all his deputies supported him. “I think so,” he said. Present at his side, the member for Richmond-Arthabaska, André Bachand, affirmed that the measure is the product of a “consensus” of the CAQ caucus.
This enhancement, which will increase the basic allowance to $131,766, must come “into effect during the current mandate,” said the Prime Minister.