The Ethics Commissioner's decision to clear Quebec Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon of charges relating to his pheasant hunt is not going down well.
The opposition is questioning Ariane Mignolet's decision, published on Wednesday, in which she cleared the Minister of the Economy of having been invited to take part in a hunting party with his friends on an island in Lake Memphremagog.
At a press scrum on Thursday, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he was surprised and had more questions than answers after reading the report.
St-Pierre Plamondon said he did not understand why a gift could be accepted by an elected official in the context of a purely private relationship when elected officials are required to declare gifts of more than $200 that they receive as part of their duties.
For his part, Liberal leader Marc Tanguay says he respects the Ethics Commissioner's decision, but maintains that the code of ethics should be amended to tighten it up.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 1, 2023.
