The Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, had an official meeting with a lobbyist who is also her partner in a real estate company. Asked by The Pressthe minister claims to have “absolutely nothing to reproach herself for” and affirms that she “would do the same thing again”.
Annie Lemieux, shareholder of several companies active in real estate, registered as a lobbyist to intervene with the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, a month after taking office last fall. The two women are business partners in three companies.
France-Élaine Duranceau and Annie Lemieux, president of the LS4 real estate group, notably joined forces to carry out a purchase-resale operation – a real estate “flip”, a completely legal activity – in La Petite-Patrie in Montreal.
PHOTO FROM LSR GESDEV WEBSITE
Annie Lemieux
With other partners, they renovated a duplex on Avenue De Chateaubriand acquired at a cost of $517,000 to fit out five condominium units, before reselling them for a total of more than $3 million. The last of these condos was sold on November 29, 2022, according to the land registry.
It was on this exact date that Annie Lemieux began a lobbying mandate for her company Groupe LS4 with Minister Anne-Élaine Duranceau and the Minister responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger. Description of the mandate: “exchange[r] on government orientations with regard to housing and accommodation for seniors in Quebec and the role of private companies in this matter”. According to the register of Lobbyisme Québec, the contact was to target certain “amendments to the Civil Code of Québec”.
A meeting was held by videoconference with Mr.my Duranceau and Bélanger on December 5, said Annie Lemieux, joined by The Press Thursday morning. According to the businesswoman, she complied with the request of the chairman of the board of directors of her company, Michel Clair, ex-minister and chairman of the Clair commission on the health system. He wanted to meet the ministers responsible for housing issues for seniors.
Annie Lemieux therefore registered in the registry of lobbyists and contacted the Minister responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger, as well as Ms.me Duranceau at the Habitation.
Annie Lemieux’s companies invest in condo buildings, rental projects, land and residences for the elderly.
“I ran into France-Élaine and said: ‘Do you know Michel? Would you like to meet him?” she says. We made ourselves available and we presented them with a small document of five initiatives to promote the construction of units for the elderly. »
A notice from the commissioner
The Minister has been in office since October 20, 2022. In the business register, she appears as a shareholder or director of three companies alongside Annie Lemieux: NOMI Immobilier as well as the limited partnership 5840-5842 Chateaubriand and the company with number 9381 -9795 Québec inc., both involved in the La Petite-Patrie project.
These organizations are mentioned in the Declaration of Personal Interests 2021-2022 published by the Commissioner of Ethics and Professional Conduct. “Everything has been endorsed and certified as compliant,” assures Marie Barrette, director of communications for the minister. Mme Barrette specifies that France-Élaine Duranceau “does not hold any interest in rental properties”.
The Commissioner, who provided confidential advice to the Minister, told the The Press that he “cannot comment on any particular case”. “Only the person who receives a notice can make it public,” wrote a spokesperson by email.
Always partners
Businesses of Minister Anne-Élaine Duranceau and Annie Lemieux are still partners in the limited partnership that carried out the real estate conversion of Avenue De Chateaubriand. According to the businesswoman, the project is over, but the company continues to exist due to ongoing litigation.
According to court documents seen by The Press, the City of Montreal halted the project in 2020 because the permits obtained did not correspond to the project. Disputes ensued and are still not over with the architect responsible for the project and the municipality.
I too would like this to be over. There is a dispute that was supposed to be settled in the spring, but it has been postponed somewhere until August. It has nothing to do with rental projects. It’s selling units.
Annie Lemieux, in a telephone interview with The Press
In interview with The Pressthe Minister assures us that she has “nothing to be ashamed of” and that she would do “the same thing” if the opportunity arose.
Long time friends
“Annie and I are longtime friends. We met through the Sainte-Justine Foundation, we have discussions on how we can change society, how we can improve things, that’s why I’m in politics today, says Mme Duranceau. I want to contribute, I want to improve things, and that was the purpose of this meeting, which was held according to the rules of the art. »
Annie Lemieux sees no conflict of interest either. “I’ve known her for 20 years, France-Élaine, I won’t stop knowing her today. It won’t change. The activities and projects we had together are over. We couldn’t erase the past. She fell in the house and I work in the house. It’s a series of coincidences. »
A little discomfort
Annie Lemieux says she does not regret her meeting with her business partner. “Today, I work to contribute to society. That’s what drives me. And I find that there are things that could be done to improve accommodation for seniors. »
She agrees, however, that her relationship with the minister calls for some caution. “I wouldn’t be comfortable meeting with the minister to offer to subsidize a new affordable housing project that I intend to do. I’ll go through someone else to get my way. »
In a press release published on June 9, the Regroupement québécois des résidences pour aînés “welcomed the courage” of the Minister for the tabling of Bill 31 on housing, while the Réseau FADOQ, representing seniors, judges that the latter “misses the target”.
Before being appointed Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau was a real estate broker with the Cushman & Wakefield agency, of which she was also vice-president. The Minister also served as vice-president, private equity group, at Colliers International, which describes itself as the “world leader in real estate services and investment management”.