Quebec's ethics commissioner launches probe into housing minister

Quebec's ethics and professional conduct commissioner has opened an investigation into the province's minister responsible for housing, France-Élaine Duranceau.

According to a news release, the commission opened the investigation into a possible ethics code breach with respect to conflicts of interest after a request made by Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji.

The request sent to the commissioner states Derraji has reasonable grounds to believe Duranceau breached sections 15 and 16 of the code.

The alleged facts concern the minister's participation, on Dec. 5, 2022, in a professional meeting with her friend and business partner, Annie Lemieux, who acted in this context as a lobbyist with her and the minister responsible for seniors, the news release states.

The accusation is based on a news article. Derraji emphasized the short period of time between the swearing-in of the two ministers, a few weeks earlier, on Oct. 20, 2022, and the meeting in question. 

"In his view, 'a reasonable person could actually wonder whether the business ties that have united [the minister] with Ms. Annie Lemieux for several years have made it possible to facilitate the request for a meeting,'" the release states.

The commissioner says Duranceau was informed in writing of the investigation.

In accordance with the code, the commissioner will conduct the investigation behind closed doors and no further public comments will be made during the process.

Once the investigation is complete, a report setting out its conclusions and the reasoning behind them will be sent to the Speaker of the National Assembly, who will then make it public by tabling the report.

Duranceau came under fire this month after a series of news reports accusing her of house flipping. The reports say she bought a duplex in Montreal worth more than a half-million dollars, transformed it into five condos and then sold each condo for up to $800,000.

"What bothers me about this is all the time realizing that our politicians are close to the elite. They are not close to the issues that Quebecers are experiencing," said Québec solidaire (QS) spokespesron Émilise Lessard-Therrien last Friday.

Ruba Ghazal, also with QS, said the province is in the midst of a housing crisis and that the crisis is "horrible."

"My phone in my riding office is ringing with people who are being evicted — people who are homeless." she said.

But flipping a Montreal property at a time when housing is in such short supply isn't the only thing that has put Duranceau in the spotlight.

Last week, she also had to defend herself after a statement she made during an interview with Noovo, a media company, in connection with her desire to tackle lease transfers in her proposed Bill 31.

Lease transfers are a way for renters to keep rental rates down as landlords can't jack up the price like they might in a new agreement with a new tenant.

"You can't use a right that isn't yours, to assign a lease to someone else, on terms you decide when it's not your building," she said.

"The tenant who wants to do that should invest in real estate and take the risks that go with it."

She later apologized for the remark, saying, "I'm sorry if that seemed insensitive. I was providing a legal and economic description. On the contrary, I am very sensitive to what is happening in terms of housing."

If Bill 31 is adopted, a landlord whose tenant wants to assign their lease can simply refuse the request and terminate it. Currently, a serious reason is required to terminate such a transfer.