Sam Hamad, dogged by ethics questions, returns from Florida
High-ranking Liberal MNA took time to 'refuel' amid questions about ties to a disgraced fundraiser
After taking a short break in Florida, Sam Hamad is expected to be back in Quebec's National Assembly on Thursday.
The veteran Liberal cabinet minister has been dogged by questions since Radio-Canada revealed he received donations from a firm tied to disgraced Liberal fundraiser Marc-Yvan Côté.
Premier Philippe Couillard announced on Saturday that Hamad would temporarily step aside from his post as Quebec's Treasury Board president.
Hamad will, however, keep his cabinet minister salary and perks, including a car and driver.
On Sunday, Hamad headed to to Florida to "refuel."
"I'm burnt out," he told Radio-Canada. "It's not easy what I'm living."
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Hamad says he has done nothing wrong and calls the allegations an unfair attack.
After the Radio-Canada report aired, he asked the ethics commissioner look into the allegations.
"My sole objective is to collaborate with the ethics commissioner. I'm waiting for his call. I hope to speak with him as soon as possible," he said.
'Right thing to do'
Premier Philippe Couillard said Hamad won't play a role in government until the ethics probe is complete.
"He has stepped aside," he told reporters. "It was the right thing to do."
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have pounced on the controversy.
Parti Québécois MNA Jean-François Lisée said it's unacceptable that Hamad continues to make a minister's salary. He also called him out for heading to Florida.
"The only worse possible scenario is if he was in Vegas," Lisée said.
CBC Montreal's political analyst Yolande James, who is a former Liberal cabinet minister, said Hamad was wrong to get on a plane and leave.
"Now we understand that the premier didn't tell him to go – that he left. There's all kinds of background discussion as to why that happened – because he's hurt – but quite frankly, you're in politics. People will not care about that. Your responsibility is to take the heat," James said in an interview on CBC Montreal News at 6.
With files from CBC Montreal News at 6