Sam Hamad avoids ethics sanctions, but has dealings questioned
Ex-minister's actions threatened public trust in National Assembly, ethics commissioner says
Former cabinet minister Sam Hamad failed to uphold the values of the National Assembly in his dealings with a disgraced party fundraiser, Quebec's ethics commissioner ruled on Thursday.
But the commissioner, Jacques Saint-Laurent, also decided that Hamad shouldn't face any sanctions for his actions.
It was Hamad himself who asked for the ethics investigation, following a Radio-Canada report that revealed an email exchange with Marc-Yvan Côté, a fundraiser at the time for the Quebec Liberals and vice president of environmental technology company Premier Tech.
Côté is currently facing fraud and conspiracy charges in a separate matter involving Hamad's former cabinet colleague, Nathalie Normandeau.
The emails appeared to show that between 2010 and 2012, while Hamad was a minister in Jean Charest's government, he provided government information to Côté and lobbied for his company to receive government funding.
Charest's cabinet ultimately decided to boost Premier Tech's funding from $7.5 million to $8.5 million.
'Imprudent' dealings
Echoing findings of a report by the auditor general last week, the ethics commissioner found there was "no motivation" for the $1 million funding increase.
"In his actions, [Hamad] did not contribute to maintaining the population's confidence in the members of the National Assembly," Saint-Laurent wrote in his report.
The commissioner added that he "hesitated for a long time" before finally deciding not to sanction Hamad.
Saint-Laurent explained his decision by saying there was a lack of proof that Hamad was personally involved in the decision to award more funding to Premier Tech.
"One thing is certain, [Hamad] didn't spare any effort when arguing for Premier Tech," Saint-Laurent wrote. He goes on to say that Hamad was "imprudent" in his dealings with Côté.
2 down, 1 to go
This is the second of three investigations into Hamad's dealings with Côté and Premier Tech. And for the second time, Hamad has avoided sanctions.
The auditor general's report released last week pointed out there was little evidence to support the government's decision to boost its aid for Premier Tech.
At the same time, the report found there was no evidence that Hamad did anything wrong. Hamad still faces an investigation by Quebec's chief electoral officer.
Hamad stepped down as Premier Philippe Couillard's Treasury Board president in April, pending the results of the ethics investigation.
But on Thursday, Couillard refused to say whether Hamad would rejoin cabinet. The premier, nevertheless, put a positive spin on the results of the ethics investigation.
"We have to remember the conclusion; it's not anodyne that the commissioner indicated there was neither blame nor sanction," Couillard told reporters in Quebec City.
"That said, I'm not minimizing the issue. I'm placing it in perspective."
In a statement released Thursday, Hamad described the previous months as among the most difficult in his life. He also struck a defiant tone.
"I felt unjustly attacked even though I always executed my ministerial functions with honesty, devotion and with concern for the interests of Quebec," his statement said.
with files from Radio-Canada and La Presse Canadienne