The Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly, Ariane Mignolet, is opening an investigation into the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette.
The investigation concerns the appointment of Charles-Olivier Gosselin as a judge at the Court by Minister Jolin-Barrette, while the two men are friends.
“We reiterate that the process, which is strictly governed by the Courts of Justice Act and by the Regulation respecting the procedure for selecting candidates for the office of judge, was followed and respected in every respect. The Ethics Commissioner can count on my full cooperation,” the minister said in writing.
It was the Liberal MP for Nelligan, Monsef Derraji, who made the request to the Ethics Commissioner. In his motion, he indicates that the appointment of Justice Gosselin “raises questions of an ethical nature as to the role of the Minister in the final phase of the appointment process”.
“Light must be shed. It is a question of transparency towards the population. She must not lose faith in our justice system. […] It’s very serious what happened, ”he argued in an interview with The Canadian Press.
It is The sun which revealed the bonds of friendship between the two men. The daily indicates in particular that Simon Jolin-Barrette, then deputy for Borduas, celebrated the marriage of Charles-Olivier Gosselin and his wife at Domaine Cataraqui in Sillery in front of several dozen guests on May 15, 2015.
Simon Jolin-Barrette confirmed that Mr. Gosselin was indeed his friend. The Justice Minister has been mired in this controversy since Friday.
On Saturday, he said he was “fully aware” that the appointment of his friend to a judgeship “was necessarily going to have a resonance”. Despite this, he did not warn either the Prime Minister or the Council of Ministers.
There is currently no obligation for the Minister to declare his conflict of interest. But Mr. Jolin-Barrette said he was ready to amend the current regulations to compel the minister to disclose any conflict of interest before appointing a magistrate.
The Minister also indicated that if he had to do it again, he would declare his conflict of interest to the Council of Ministers.
Remember that it is an independent committee that proposes a list of a maximum of three names to the Minister after a notice of candidacy. Subsequently, the Minister proposes a candidate to the Council of Ministers who only endorses the choice.