Sam Hamad denies breaking law amid outcry over email exchange with Marc-Yvan Côté

Quebec Treasury Board President Sam Hamad has requested that Quebec's ethics commissioner investigate his past relationship with disgraced Liberal political fundraiser Marc-Yvan Côté.

Hamad adamantly denies any wrongdoing, in the wake of revelations on Radio-Canada's Enquête that Hamad was a source of strategic information for Côté when he was the vice-chairman of the board at the firm Premier Tech, helping to advance the company's agenda with the Charest government.

Enquête obtained a string of emails documenting its case, dating back to the period in which Hamad was the minister of labour and then economic development in the Charest Liberal government.

• Sam Hamad received donations from firm tied to Marc-Yvan Côté
• Philippe Couillard distances himself from Charest-era Liberals in wake of UPAC arrests

Côté stepped down from his position on Premier Tech's board of directors two weeks ago, when was charged with fraud and corruption for alleged activities that took place between 2000 and 2012.

Enquête report was 'innuendo': Hamad

Hamad made the rounds of morning radio shows on Friday to defend his actions, accusing Enquête of misinterpreting the emails.

"These aren't revelations," Hamad told Radio-Canada. "That was innuendo and amalgam and shortcuts in emails I never wrote."

He denied divulging strategic information to Côté and defended his involvement in Premier Tech's request for financial assistance from the provincial government. 

"I followed the progress of the file simply because it is a good project for the region," he said.

Hamad said he didn't cross any lines because he didn't intervene or try to change the government's investment decisions. 

​Hamad added that he didn't know Côté wasn't a registered lobbyist until Thursday night's Enquête investigation, saying that it wasn't his responsibility as a minister to verify Côté's status.

A spokesperson for Quebec's Lobbyists Commissioner, François Casgrain, said his office was aware of the Enquête report on the emails but would not comment.

Donations 'never solicited'

On the question of Côté's donations to the provincial Liberal party — nearly $17,000 altogether from Côté and his family — and other political contributions from individuals connected to Premier Tech to the Liberal party and, in some cases, specifically to Hamad's riding, the Treasury Board president said he had nothing to do with them.

"That's for [donors] to justify why they made a donation, and what's clear in the emails is that we never solicited them for donations," he said.

Hamad also stressed several times that Côté was in no way involved in Couillard's leadership campaign.

The premier's office said Couillard would not be granting interviews today.

For its part, Premier Tech distanced itself from Côté in a statement, saying he was never an employee or a leading figure in the company.

The company also said it didn't have a history of making partisan donations, and all electoral contributions were made in "strict compliance with the applicable legislation."

'Serious and concerning'

The opposition Parti Québécois and Coalition Avenir Québec have called for Couillard to remove Hamad from the cabinet, and they also want Quebec's ethics commissioner to investigate.

"The facts reported by Radio-Canada are serious and concerning enough to demand the withdrawal of Sam Hamad from the cabinet," said CAQ treasury board spokesman Éric Caire.

"The prime minister must show leadership and set an example of integrity," he added.

​PQ Leader Pierre Karl Péladeau took to Twitter, saying Quebecers need the truth and asking Couillard to have "minimal respect" for Quebecers.

Péladeau told Radio-Canada Friday morning that Hamad has no excuse for having a working relationship with Côté when it was widely known that he was banned for life from the provincial Liberal party. 

'Enough is enough!'

Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir took his demands one step further, calling for Hamad's resignation.

"We are facing a blatant violation of the lobbying law and a serious breach of the code of ethics and professional conduct," he added.

But Khadir said he wasn't surprised by the email exchange obtained by Enquête. He compared Hamad to Nathalie Normandeau, a former Liberal cabinet minister who was arrested along with Côté by the province's anti-corruption unit.

"How can premier Couillard claim that the Liberal Party has turned the page on the era of corruption as Sam Hamad sits by his side?" Khadir said.

"Enough is enough."

More calls for reviews

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has also called for a review by Quebec's auditor general of all contracts awarded by Sam Hamad in his capacity as minister of economic development.

"The current president of the Treasury Board, who is supposed to defend the interests of taxpayers in cabinet, is accused of having interfered to help a friend," the federation's statement read.

'The premier must take action to restore the confidence of taxpayers."