Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon is the subject of a new inquiry into possible breaches of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Members of the National Assembly. (Photo: The Canadian Press)
Quebec – Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon is the subject of a new investigation by the Ethics Commissioner into possible violations of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Members of the National Assembly.
The opening of this inquiry, which was confirmed by the commissioner on Friday, follows a request made earlier this week by PQ MP for the Magdalen Islands, Joël Arseneau.
This will be a fifth investigation involving Mr Fitzgibbon.
Mr Arseneau had written to Commissioner Ariane Mignolet earlier this week to request an investigation into the minister’s approval in November 2021 of a $24 million investment in LMPG, the parent company of the product maker of Lumenpulse lighting, we can read in the letter from The Commissioner sent to Mr. Arseneau, obtained by The Canadian Press.
In his query, the PQ member says he has “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Minister has breached Sections 15 and 16 of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Members of the National Assembly.
As described in the Commissioner’s letter, Minister Fitzgibbon would have approved this transaction “while one of the shareholders and directors (of LMPG), Michel Ringuet, had a contractual relationship with the Minister and was acting as an agent of his blind confidence”. .
In addition, the question mentions that the minister “was himself a director of the company between 2013 and 2017”.
The MNA for Îles-de-la-Madeleine calls for an inquiry “to determine whether the Minister’s actions and interventions in this file have or could have had the effect of favoring the interests of (his mandatary) and whether the Ministers’ previous functions within the company may have affected its ability to make this decision,” the commissioner said in a statement released on Friday.
As a result, the minister was informed in writing about the initiation of preliminary proceedings against him.
In accordance with the Code, the Commissioner will conduct her investigation in camera. A report setting out the reasons for its conclusions and recommendations will be sent to the President of the National Assembly, who will make it public by submitting it to the Assembly.
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