Ethics Commissioner Ariane Mignolet wishes to be heard in a parliamentary committee to discuss, in particular, the measures to be put in place to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest concerning the remuneration of MNAs.
Mme Mignolet filed three years ago a report on the application of the code of ethics of the National Assembly in which she recommends, among other elements, the establishment of an independent mechanism to establish the working conditions of elected officials.
Contrary to what was planned, the Commissioner has still not yet been invited to a parliamentary committee after the tabling of the document, whose twenty recommendations, in particular on remuneration, could modify several aspects of the code of ethics.
In an interview at DutyMme Mignolet acknowledges that the pandemic has disrupted parliamentary work, but she still hopes that she will be able to meet with MPs to discuss her report. “I want it to be called for consideration,” she said last Friday.
The day before, the elected members of the National Assembly had mandated two former deputies and a human resources specialist to make a proposal concerning the remuneration of elected officials.
Mme Mignolet remained very cautious in commenting on this new initiative, which aims to prevent elected officials from placing themselves in a situation of apparent conflict of interest by determining their own working conditions.
“I see that it is not unanimous among parliamentarians,” she justified.
Québec solidaire (QS) dissociated itself from this decision supported by the other parties. QS MP Ruba Ghazal considers it inappropriate that the two former mandated MPs are still receiving a transitional allowance from the National Assembly after renouncing to stand in the last elections. Mme Ghazal also wants all MPs’ salaries to be taken into account.
Not negative
Mme Mignolet did not want to comment on the risks of an apparent conflict of interest that could arise from the fact that the two former elected officials, PQ member Martin Ouellet and Liberal Lise Thériault, still have a financial link with the institution. parliamentary.
“Already, former parliamentarians, they know parliamentary work, she said. It is not something that is negative in itself. »
In his report, Mr.me Mignolet writes that an independent mechanism would make it possible to fully respect the deontological rules listed in the code of ethics.
[Les députés en campagne électorale] manage budgets and they are half in the campaign, half in their role, and the line is a little blurred
His observation is based on an analysis that his predecessor, Jacques Saint-Laurent, had made on this subject. He pleaded for the establishment of a permanent independent committee with decision-making powers regarding the working conditions of MPs.
“The possibility cannot be ruled out that a reasonably well-informed person will question the existence of a situation of conflict of interest, when Members decide on their own working conditions and their remuneration, whatever they are, ”he wrote in an excerpt quoted by his successor in his most recent report.
Mme Mignolet did not want to specify the importance she attaches to the extent of the decision-making powers which the committee should have or on its permanent nature.
“Discussions on this, I prefer to have with parliamentarians themselves as part of the study of the implementation report,” she said.
Ministers and companies
After submitting his report, Mr.me Mignolet had already had the opportunity to comment on one of his recommendations aimed at granting him more latitude to judge the risks of conflicts in the event that ministers hold interests in private companies that have contractual links with the State. .
“Obviously, that does not open the door to all ministers being able to hold interests, it will depend on the minister’s responsibilities, she repeated in an interview with the Duty. There are a lot of elements that can be taken into account, what I ask is flexibility to assess the situation. »
This issue has been felt more acutely by the numerous disputes of Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who has been blamed for assets he was slow to dispose of.
Among his other recommendations, Ms.me Mignolet also wants to obtain the power to enforce the code of ethics during election campaigns.
Currently, the deputies fall into a gray zone which is not provided for by the code as soon as the National Assembly is dissolved by the lieutenant-governor, on the day of the start of the campaign.
“They manage budgets and they are half in the campaign, half in their role, and the border is a little blurred,” says the commissioner.
This situation increases the risk of using parliamentary resources for partisan purposes, which is prohibited by the code of ethics.
Even though her powers are non-existent during the campaign, Mme Mignolet does not prevent himself from intervening informally when the situation demands it.
“I pick up the phone and, if I see a situation, I explain it,” she says.
However, this kind of intervention was not necessary during the last election campaign, she assures, without being able to remember exactly what happened for that of 2018. “I did not have any situations major, says the Commissioner. There are always small cases, but not worth mentioning. »