Legault defends housing minister after latest CAQ ethics probe

Quebec Minister Responsible for Housing France-Elaine Duranceau responds to the Opposition during question period, Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

QUEBEC CITY -

Quebec Premier François Legault defended the integrity of his government Wednesday after his Minster of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, is under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner.

"I don't think our ministers put themselves in situations where someone could embezzle, take advantage, or whatever. I think everyone in my cabinet is there for the right reasons," he told a morning press scrum.

The National Assembly's Ethics Commissioner, Ariane Mignolet, opened an investigation on Tuesday into a Dec. 5, 2022, meeting between Duranceau and lobbyist Annie Lemieux, a friend and business partner of the minister.

This is not a first for the Legault government. The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, has been investigated six times by the Ethics Commissioner and received two reprimands.

Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette is currently under investigation by the commissioner over the appointment of his friend, Charles-Olivier Gosselin, as a judge on the Court of Quebec.

Legault gave assurances that the government would cooperate with the inquiry.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 21, 2023.