Two more CAQ MNAs in hot water over alleged meetings in exchange for money

Orford MNA, Gilles Bélanger and his colleague from René-Lévesque, Yves Montigny, face criticism while two investigations by the Ethics Commissioner are looking into the fundraising practices of other CAQ caucus members, Sylvain Lévesque and Louis-Charles Thouin.

The Canadian Press revealed on Monday that nearly half of Quebec’s mayors had financed the CAQ since 2021, amounting nearly $100,000.

The opposition sees this as a “system,” but the CAQ defended itself on Tuesday against having set up a fundraising system that curbs access to its ministers.

In a message obtained by The Canadian Press, on Tuesday afternoon, Bélanger invited the mayors of the Memphrémagog MRC last November, to meet Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault in exchange for a $100 contribution.

“Gilles Bélanger will be receiving the Minister responsible for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, for his annual funding event. At her request, I am sending you this invitation, as he would be honoured by your presence,” it reads.

“You will have the opportunity to discuss topical issues such as connectivity, innovation and artificial intelligence, in a relaxed atmosphere.”

The local councillor who forwarded the message to The Canadian Press expressed his “unease” at this kind of solicitation and said he had not attended the event.

According to a screenshot obtained by Québec solidaire (QS), René-Lévesque MNA, Yves Montigny, invited an entrepreneur from his region to meet the Minister of Agriculture, André Lamontagne, at a cocktail party in exchange for a $100 contribution to the party fund.

“I know we haven’t always done what you wanted, but it’s a great opportunity to talk to a minister,” it read.

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon suspects the CAQ of using a “modus operandi” to collect donations, by dangling the prospect of access to a decision-maker in exchange for $100.

“Are Quebecers right to be concerned about the CAQ monetising access to its ministers?” asked Québec solidaire MNA Vincent Marissal during question period.

“The CAQ has set up a solicitation system based on access to its ministers,” he said indignantly, provoking irritation among the government’s elected representatives.

“This is not a practice I’m familiar with,” government leader and Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette assured the press, while refusing to answer the question as to why nearly half the mayors pay into the CAQ fund.

“François Legault is pleading coincidence, but I think there are starting to be a lot of coincidences,” QS parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois responded at a press briefing on Tuesday morning.

Shortly afterwards, the Parti Québécois (PQ) unanimously passed a motion, including the elected members of the CAQ, to prohibit ministers from soliciting political contributions from suppliers and recipients of financial assistance from their departments – a recommendation of the Charbonneau commission.

“Political financing should not place elected representatives in a conflict of interest,” Plamondon said to the press.

“An MP should not be sending messages to municipal councillors saying: ‘What a great opportunity to move your file forward, what a great opportunity to meet the minister you never got to meet if you offer us $100 and you take part in a fundraising event’.

Jolin-Barrette said that both the PQ and the Liberal Party have also organised fundraising activities in the past, when they were in government, by inviting ministers.

He recalled that the QS MNA for Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie, had received a contribution from the mayor of Sherbrooke.

Even the CAQ’s director general, Brigitte Legault, published an open letter on Tuesday defending the party’s integrity and fundraising methods.

Thouin and Lévesque

In a message obtained by The Canadian Press last week, Louis-Charles Thouin invited the mayors of his riding to “combine business with pleasure” at a cocktail party where, in exchange for a $100 contribution to the election fund, they could meet Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault on Feb. 8 in Saint-Jacques.

“Geneviève and I will be delighted to welcome you and to discuss with you various subjects of concern to you, including road and public transport issues,” it read.

In the face of controversy, the cocktail party was finally postponed by the CAQ and the Ethics Commissioner of the National Assembly, Ariane Mignolet, announced on Monday that she was launching an investigation into the Thouin case, at the request of Québec solidaire.

Jolin-Barrette said on Tuesday that the CAQ would not exclude Thouin from its caucus for the duration of the investigation.

Elected representatives, like all citizens, have the right to contribute to the financing of a party, but its illegal to pay money into a party’s pockets in order to obtain a quid pro quo.

This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.