Blamed by the Ethics Commissioner for a meeting where she favored the interests of a friend, CAQ Minister France-Élaine Duranceau can consider herself lucky to get off so lightly.
• Read also: Duranceau improperly favored the personal interests of a friend
Commissioner Ariane Mignolet could indeed have recommended a sanction ranging from a reprimand to a suspension or loss of her seat as a deputy. However, she counted on the good faith and collaboration of the elected official, as well as on the fact that she recognized her error.
The commissioner writes, however, that she does not consider that the breach committed by Minister Duranceau is minor. She believes that “the situation in question contributes to undermining public confidence in the National Assembly and its members”.
As if that confidence wasn’t already shaken enough…
- Listen to the column by Karine Gagnon, political columnist at JDM and JDQ via QUB radio :
Several blunders
The reality is that the minister responsible for Housing acted without worrying about what her new role as minister entailed ethically.
Recruited in 2022 by the CAQ, this ex-real estate broker is not making her first blunder. She has demonstrated several times that she does not have a good command of her files. In the midst of the housing crisis, she notably tabled a bill on housing considered botched by oppositions.
Two weeks ago, in an interview with Radio-Canada, Mme Duranceau wasn’t even able to correctly answer how much a three and a half cost on average in Montreal.
Mandatory training
Verification carried out with the commissioner’s office, since October 2022, 48 elected officials, or well less than half of the 125 deputies who sit in the National Assembly, have followed at least one of the training sessions on the Code of Ethics.
This observation proves the commissioner right, who since taking office has called for ethics training to become mandatory.