According to information first published by the Journal de Montréal, but Radio-Canada has been unable to verify, in October the minister attended a pheasant hunt on Province Island, located in the middle of Lake Memphremagog.
Under pressure to justify himself during a press scuffle on Thursday, Mr Fitzgibbon said he had made no ethical mistake by hunting at the site he says he has been visiting for 20 years. I have good acquaintances who I see regularly, he replied. It’s a private activity, so it will continue.
The Legault government’s superminister said he also had a meal on the island, which is managed by a private, invitation-only club. I paid what I had to pay and I am very comfortable with this activity, he said, adding that he has no objection to the National Assembly Ethics Commissioner investigating the matter.
I think Le Journal de Montréal should request a commission of inquiry, which he created, through the Parti Québécois MPs.
“I have never had any wrongdoing in my behavior and there never will be. »
— A quote from Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister for Economy, Innovation and Energy
Before publishing the article in the Journal de Montréal asking the minister to justify his trip, the minister’s press attaché, Mathieu St-Amant, had stated: If you would like an interview about the pheasant hunt, we are ready to do one to speak of your hunting and fishing columnists.
For Mr. Fitzgibbon, this line did not imply arrogance. No, it’s not arrogance, he replied. My private life is mine. It is not because of the Journal de Montréal that I will deprive myself of seeing my good knowledge.
The three opposition parties quickly combined their votes. In a press conference Thursday morning in Parliament, Liberal leader Marc Tanguay confirmed that he was asking the Ethics Commissioner for an investigation. It was Liberal MP Monsef Derraji who officially forwarded the request. If so, note that this would be the sixth ethical inquiry into Mr Fitzgibbon’s actions in four years.
Parti Québécois member for Matane-Matapédia Pascal Bérubé felt that the minister’s hunting party provided a relentless observation regarding his dating. We’re not from the same world, he said. It’s hard for those millionaires, these big business owners and managers to teach them the lesson afterwards by telling people to stay sober when it’s so obvious.
Québec solidaire, for its part, has already written to Commissioner Ariane Mignolet requesting that an investigation be conducted under Section 91 of the Code of Ethics for MPs. In a letter from Rosemont member Vincent Marissal, the party asserts that at least one of the owners of the private island where the hunting party took place benefited from subsidies from the Economic Development Fund.
The possible receipt of donations, hospitality or other benefits from persons applying for state aid is likely to constitute a personal interest that could affect the exercise of public office’s independence of judgment in a position decision concerning them, added the MNA for Rosemont.
“Mr. Fitzgibbon didn’t realize he was unemployed. He is now a servant of the state and must be careful with these gestures. »
– A quote from Vincent Marissal, MP for Rosemont
At a press conference, Mr Marissal underscored the point by stating that given this breach of our code of ethics there was no choice but to call the Commissioner. How long will the Prime Minister tolerate this? he said.