Embattled Treasury Board President Sam Hamad will temporarily step down from cabinet, said Premier Philippe Couillard on Saturday.
Couillard was leaving the funeral of Claire Kirland-Casgrain, the first woman ever named to Quebec’s cabinet, when he made the announcement.
Later on Saturday, Couillard said in a statement that Finance Minister Carlos Leitao would be taking over Hamad's responsibilities as Treasury Board president.
The premier said Hamad had made the request to withdraw from office until an investigation by the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner is completed. Hamad will retain his title but will not sit in the Council of Ministers meetings.
“I have total trust in his integrity and his capacity to serve Quebec as he’s done before and will do, I think, very well in the future,” said Couillard.
Couillard compared Hamad’s status to sick leave, saying “He is not guilty of anything.”
Parti Quebecois leader Pierre Karl Peladeau said the investigation into Hamad raises questions about Liberal fundraising.
“It was their decision to make, unfortunately it took 48 hours for this decision to arrive,” said Peladeau. "That brings a lot of other questions.”
The decision to temporarily withdraw from cabinet does not go far enough, said Quebec Solidaire MNA Francoise David.
“For me, it’s just the beginning,” she said. “Mr. Couillard will have to clean up all of this situation and think about all these ministers who were there in the 2000s. What did people know, what did they do? Who will be next? I think giving all our confidence to a person like Sam Hamad is a little bit risky.”
On Thursday, a report by Radio-Canada’s investigative journalism program ‘Enquete’ said Hamad received fund-raising help from Marc-Yvan Côté, a former Liberal cabinet minister, and that in turn, Hamad gave sensitive cabinet information to an environmental technology company where Côté was working.
Two weeks ago, Côté was charged with fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust.
-With files from The Canadian Press
