Élections Québec confirms it has opened an investigation into the $200 donated to the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) by a grieving couple who were invited to a meeting with Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault during a fundraising cocktail last October.
“Public information leads us to believe that the two contributions were made in exchange for consideration, so these contributions are not compliant,” the Élections Québec spokeswoman explains in an email. , Julie Saint Arnaud.
The story broke on February 8, during the parliamentary committee hearing of Elizabeth Rivera and Antoine Bittar, who have been campaigning to lower the alcohol limit allowed on Quebec roads since the death of their daughter in an accident in 2017.
The couple revealed they had been invited by an aide to CAQ MP Marilyne Picard to attend a fundraising cocktail at which Minister Guilbault would be present. To get a ticket, Ms. Rivera and Mr. Bittar had to pay $100 each.
They said they had access to the minister for a total of four minutes that evening and found it unacceptable to have to pay for the minister's drunk driving education.
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Elizabeth Rivera and Antoine Bittar continue to advocate for lowering blood alcohol levels to 0.05.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Since then, Rep. Marilyne Picard has admitted an error in judgment. The CAQ also returned the $200 to Ms. Rivera and Mr. Bittar while expressing regret at the turn of events.
However, Élections Québec believes that the $200 returned to the couple was compensation for the two citizens and not a refund of their contributions. This is then a party expense and this expense must appear in the party's annual financial report.
Other investigations?
If the investigation concludes the couple's donation was illegal, the CAQ will also have to pay back $200 to Élections Québec. The law stipulates that any non-compliant contribution must be returned to the Director General of Elections so that it can be transferred to the Ministry of Finance, explains Julie Saint-Arnaud.
In a written statement, CAQ director general Brigitte Legault only confirmed that she was in contact with Élections Québec to discuss the steps that needed to be taken to finally bring the donations into compliance.
The CAQ has been on the hot seat for several weeks over controversies surrounding its political funding, but the institution does not indicate whether any cases other than that of the Bittar-Rivera couple are currently under investigation.
We do not confirm or deny that other investigations have been carried out.
Last month, The Canadian Press revealed that nearly half of the province's mayors have contributed to the CAQ's election fund since 2021.
Two CAQ MPs, Sylvain Lévesque and Louis-Charles Thouin, are currently the subject of an investigation by the CAQ's ethics commissioner. ™National Assembly.
François Legault did not accept that his integrity and that of his troops would be questioned and confirmed in early February that the CAQ would forego public funding.
More details to follow.