Parti Quebecois MNA Pierre Karl Peladeau is once again in hot water for lobbying on behalf of his media empire.
Over the summer Peladeau pressured the provincial government to reinstate a 20 percent tax credit for the film and TV industry.
Those tax credits indirectly benefit Quebecor, the media company that Peladeau controls, through its use of subcontractors.
Peladeau's spouse, Julie Snyder, is the CEO of Productions J which produces many TV programs including Le Banquier.
The MNA said his actions are appropriate because he is acting in the general interests of all Quebecers.
"What next? Soon they'll say I cannot talk about education because I have children," Peladeau told reporters in the National Assembly.
This week the provincial Ethics Commissioner, Jacques St-Laurent, ruled that as long as Peladeau is simply an MNA he does not have to put his Quebecor shares in a trust.
But the Liberals and the CAQ said this is the second time Peladeau has been caught lobbying on behalf of the company he controls.
"Is there some solution to that? Let's find ways to deal with that, clearly, objectively," said Liberal house leader Jean-Marc Fournier.
"Even some members of [the Parti Quebecois] recognize there is a problem. Why do they oppose the possibility to inform the population by expert advice?"
Eric Caire, who is the deputy house leader for the CAQ, believes PQ MNAs are worried about repercussions if they criticize the man who is considered the front-runner to be the party's next leader.
"I think they are afraid he will become the next leader of the PQ, so you don't want your leader to have something against you," said Caire.
The Ethics Commissioner is still investigating Peladeau for lobbying to have Investment Quebec intervene and assist Quebecor purchase Mel's Studio in Montreal, a TV and film facility and sound studio.
