A National Assembly committee will hold the first of two days of hearings Tuesday to review the code of ethics for members of the National Assembly.
Jacques Saint-Laurent, the National Assembly’s commissioner of ethics, tabled a report earlier this year with 23 recommendations to improve the code. Two of them deal with an MNA's ownership of media interests and potential conflicts of interest.
The recommendations seemed to be directed at dealing with Pierre Karl Peladeau’s assets, the newly-elected leader of the PQ who is also the owner of the Quebecor media group.
Peladeau warned his opponents Monday against using any of the recommendations for political gain. He said members of the Liberals and CAQ should stick to what’s in the report when commenting about the findings.
Only members of cabinet have to follow strict rules when it comes to business interests and shares. As an MNA and even as opposition leader, Peladeau is not currently bound to place his shares in a blind trust, but he has said he will. However, Peladeau specifically wants the trust to retain control of his Quebecor shares.
Peladeau’s situation is unprecedented – is a blind trust with such specific instructions truly a blind trust? Should rules be different for media ownership versus any other business?
Saint-Laurent will be the first to testify at the committee Tuesday afternoon. On June 2, the MNAs’ legal advisor will testify.
The committee and commissioner can only make recommendations, not laws.
-- with a file from The Canadian Press
Report on the Code of Ethics for Quebec MNAs
