Analysis of CAQ complaint against Parti Quebecois MNA postponed until after by-election

Parti Quebecois MNA Pascal Berube responds to reporters question at a news conference, Thursday, December 9, 2021 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The ethics commissioner has decided to postpone the analysis of a complaint by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) against Parti Quebecois (PQ) MNA Pascal Bérubé, arguing that the response to the request for an enquiry could have an impact on the byelection in the Jean-Talon riding.

Last week, the Matane-Matapédia MNA sent an email to a list of recipients telling them that their names appeared on the list of PQ members in the Jean-Talon riding. The email asked for their help in finding support for the PQ in their neighbourhoods for the forthcoming byelections.

The email address Bérubé used was that of the national assembly.

Bérubé acknowledged his error and said that he had sent a notice with the party's email to correct the situation.

On Tuesday, the ethics commissioner received a request for an investigation from CAQ MNA Mario Laframboise under section 91 of the "Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Members of the National Assembly."

On Friday, the ethics commissioner decided to "defer analysis" of the request for an enquiry until after the byelection in the Jean-Talon riding.

The purpose of postponing the analysis is to prevent the commissioner's response from being perceived, in the public eye, as something that could interfere with the current campaign, given the imminence of the vote.

"This avenue is made possible since the situation at the origin of the alleged breach has ceased and since the evidence that the commissioner would be called upon to gather if an investigation were triggered is not likely to be compromised," an email from the ethics commissioner's office reads.

The office also explained that the candidates in the byelection "could be affected by the decision to launch or not to launch an investigation."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 22, 2023.