(Quebec) Member of Parliament Pascal Bérubé has not committed a breach of the National Assembly’s code of ethics, the Ethics Commissioner has determined. The PQ now accuses the CAQ of having filed a complaint for political reasons.
As part of her investigation, Ethics Commissioner Ariane Mignolet determined that Mr. Bérubé did not commit a breach by using his elected email address to share a communication with members and supporters of the Parti québécois de la riding of Jean-Talon.
Mr. Bérubé admitted his error and argued that he only had one email address. He has since created a Gmail address. The Ethics Commissioner, Ariane Mignolet, judged that the sending of the email was “anecdotal, minor and superficial”.
PHOTO FROM THE ETHICS AND CONDUCT COMMISSIONER’S WEBSITE
Ariane Mignolet, Ethics Commissioner
“The fact that the MP has since created a personal email address helps reduce the risk of such a situation recurring. The consequences resulting from the use of state resources by the deputy in this case are therefore minimal,” she wrote in her report released Thursday.
It was CAQ MP Mario Laframboise who filed this complaint last September. For Mr. Bérubé, it appears clear today that this complaint was in fact “only an attempt by the CAQ to [l’]bother “.
Instrumentalization
“I didn’t like the episode. […] It was exploited. A minister used this against me. I know very well why they did it: it was to annoy me. From my perspective, I know that’s what they were doing it for,” he lamented, emphasizing that the complaint was made in the context of a by-election.
Mr. Bérubé affirms that “reflections” must be made following this report. He wonders if the commissioner must absolutely “reveal” that an investigation has been launched, as is currently the case. He also emphasizes that the commissioner is asking for the power to carry out “prior checks”. “That’s exactly what happened in this case. There shouldn’t have been an investigation, it wasn’t important enough,” he said.
“In a case like the one leading to this investigation report, I believe that a preliminary examination mechanism would have been better suited than the investigation process,” writes the commissioner.
Me Mignolet writes that “the opening of an investigation undoubtedly entails significant consequences for the persons concerned”, a preliminary examination mechanism would eliminate the need to carry out certain investigations.