Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defends the appointment of his minister’s sister-in-law Dominic LeBlanc as interim Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, noting that her work in the office dates back to the years in power of the former Conservative government by Stephen Harper.
Martine Richard, who has worked at the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada as a lawyer since 2013, was appointed for a six-month term this week.
“The Acting Commissioner has worked at the highest levels within the Office of the Ethics Commissioner for over 10 years. […] She did a great job under former commissioner (Mario) Dion and actually replaced him a couple of times when he was on sick leave and dealing with health issues,” said Mr. Trudeau on Friday at a press briefing in Moncton, New Brunswick.
At his side, the member of this Atlantic province and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. LeBlanc, specified that he had recused himself when the Prime Minister had raised the issue during Cabinet discussions.
“I did not participate at all in this (selection) process”, he further argued, saying he had nothing else to add.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada indicated on Thursday that, since Ms. Richard has been employed by this office, a provision means that certain subjects that could place her in a potential conflict are never brought to his attention.
On Friday, Mr. Trudeau said that “if there is one office that understands how to manage ethical conflicts or the appearance of conflicts, it is this office.”
Ms. Richard became commissioner on Monday under a section of the Parliament of Canada Act that allows the government to “appoint any competent person to act for a term not exceeding six months.”
The Conservatives have been criticizing for several days, during question periods, the appointment of Mr. LeBlanc’s sister-in-law. They also maintain that the fact that the Liberals insist that his integration into the team of the commissioner goes back to the years of the Harper government does not change anything.
On Thursday, the House leader of the government, Mark Holland, had served this argument, as well as Mr. Trudeau.
On Friday, the Bloc Québécois also got involved, during question period, after denouncing the appointment in writing. Its ethics spokesperson, René Villemure, even went so far as to ask that the government back down.
“The appearance of conflicts of interest is obvious. Even if they seem not to know what it is, a conflict of interest, we ask the Liberals to reconsider this appointment, ”he said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sees choosing Mr. LeBlanc’s sister-in-law as an ethics watchdog a way for the Liberals to ensure that “we can discuss each case around the dinner table without worrying.
Mr LeBlanc was found guilty of breaching conflict of interest rules in 2018 for approving a lucrative fishing license for a business run by a family member while he was fisheries minister.
According to Mr. Poilievre, the Prime Minister must have told himself that he “enjoys appointing members of (his) (Liberal) family and (his) friends as independent officers”. As he said that last word, he mimed quotation marks in the air.
“Are we going to exhaust the list […] for these positions? “, he continued.
The Conservatives, like the Bloc, believe in particular that the special rapporteur on foreign interference, David Johnston, is too close to the Liberals and Justin Trudeau.
For Mr. Villemure, there is no doubt that the case of Ms. Richard “is added to an endless list of breaches of ethics”.
With information from Mickey Djuric