Legault government ministers who own companies don’t have to part with them, the ethics commissioner ruled.
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Shortly after the formation of the Council of Ministers last autumn, our investigative agency indicated that Christopher Skeete, France-Élaine Duranceau and Bernard Drainville were at the helm of companies and that they could be forced to give up their seats on the Council of Ministers.
The Code of Ethics for Elected Officers requires that a “Member of the Executive Board […] shall not hold the office of director or manager of any legal entity”.
The ethics officer therefore had to analyze the situation of each individual minister.
adjustments
Discussions with Anti-Racism Minister Christopher Skeete lasted a few months.
In the course of this exchange, Mr. Skeete, who is President of a medical clinic that provides sampling and vaccination services that are reimbursed by customers’ private insurance, took certain actions to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
Before the last election, he changed the structure of his companies to bring them into a family trust, which he still sat on.
He has been trying to find a trustee to manage it in his absence for the past few months.
“We provided the commissioner with everything she asked of us and we settled the situation,” Mr Skeete summed up in an interview on Friday.
Done quickly
In the autumn, Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau, who owns real estate companies, was very quick to announce her intention to follow the Commissioner’s instructions once she was appointed.
It turned out that there was “no problem”, said the minister’s spokesman.
After all, the case of Bernard Drainville was not a problem.
He was president of a company for his communications contracts. This became “inactive” when Mr. Drainville was elected.
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