(Quebec) Ethics Commissioner Ariane Mignolet has opened an investigation into Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau at the request of the Quebec Liberal Party.
“The facts alleged concern the Minister’s participation, on December 5, 2022, in a professional meeting with her friend and business partner, Annie Lemieux, who acted in this context as a lobbyist with her and the Minister responsible for Seniors. “said Ariane Mignolet in a press release.
She specifies that the opening of this investigation follows a request made by the MP for Nelligan, the liberal Monsef Derraji, who has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Ms.me Duranceau “would have breached” the code of ethics in matters of conflict of interest.
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.
Business links
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.
The Commissioner also specified that Monsef Derraji relies on “a press article” to emphasize “the short period of time that would have elapsed between the swearing-in of the two ministers […] and the meeting in question.
“A reasonable person could indeed wonder whether the business ties that have united the Minister with Ms. Annie Lemieux for several years have made it possible to facilitate the request for a meeting,” Mr. Derraji told the commissioner.
Description of the mandate, first reported publicly by the Pivot news site on Thursday afternoon: “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”.
Hugo Joncas and Charles-Eric Blais-Poulin, The Press