Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne faced questioning by MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee surrounding his decision to implement an ethics screen around the Alto high-speed rail project. The ethics commissioner had advised Champagne that the screen is not necessary.
Champagne told MPs on June 11 that after his partner was hired as vice-president at the Crown corporation Alto, which is in charge of a proposed $60 billion to $90 billion high-speed rail project from Toronto to Quebec City, he contacted the ethics commissioner and informed the office of this.
Champagne said he was told that there is no risk of a conflict of interest, but despite this, “I nevertheless chose, out of an abundance of caution, to implement and maintain an ethics screen to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.”
The finance minister said he received a letter from the ethics commissioner on April 7, stating that an ethics screen was not required, as Alto is a Crown corporation that the transport minister is responsible for, and Champagne has “no decision-making authority over human resources matters at Alto.”
Barrett noted that Champagne had participated in votes in the House related to Alto, which included the Budget Implementation Act that contained measures related to the high-speed rail. “Why did you proceed to do the very thing that you had said that you believed, not the ethics commissioner, would create a conflict?” Barrett asked.
The finance minister said that while he had voted on legislation related to Alto, this was done under the Conflict of Interest Act’s “general application” exception, which allows him to “participate in parliamentary debates and votes, including those which are related to the budget and the Budget Implementation Act.”
That act included measures that would streamline land acquisition for the high-speed rail project. Under the proposed changes, the Crown could expropriate property to be used for the rail without first following certain standard procedures required under the current Expropriation Act.
Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin questioned why Champagne had not removed the measures relating to Alto from the Budget Implementation Act, so that there would not have been the appearance of a conflict of interest. Champagne repeated that according to the ethics commissioner, Alto is responsible to Parliament through the transport minister, and not the finance minister.
Bonin said this could “lead to an appearance” of a conflict of interest. “Do you not see that people could be asking questions? Your wife is a VP, and you’re making important decisions that would give Alto expropriation projects, and billion dollar contracts will be signed,” he said.
Champagne said the allegations were “false” and that Bonin, “who is not a lawyer, [should] consult a lawyer.”
The Conservatives tabled a motion in committee calling for the release of Champagne’s letter to the ethics commissioner, but it was defeated 5–4 by Liberal MPs.
The Conservative Party is opposed to the Alto project because of the high costs, while the Bloc Québécois has said it is against the current approach to the project that could involve expropriation of Quebecers’ land.
