Quebec’s ethics commissioner has opened an investigation into a possible conflict of interest involving the province’s economy minister and Bombardier.
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Last week, Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said he was open to investing more government money in Bombardier in order to protect jobs. Earlier this month, Bombardier announced it was laying off around 2,500 employees in Quebec.
“I made sure to (tell) Mr. Bellemare that, would there be an opportunity, we would be open for business,” Fitzgibbon told reporters last Friday.
The minister is a former board member for Héroux-Devtek Inc., a Longueuil-based aerospace firm that supplies Bombardier with parts. He resigned from the board on Oct. 2 when he was elected, but he still owns shares in the company.
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Fitzgibbon denies he has a conflict of interest when it comes to Bombardier, saying he meets the requirements of Quebec’s ethics commissioner because his shares are being transferred to a blind trust.
“Do you know what that means? I have no idea what’s in there,” he explained to reporters on Tuesday. “That’s been done for a number of years because I used to be on the board of the Caisse de dépôt, as a matter of fact.”
“Now at the government, when you become a minister, there’s a rule, I think after 60 days, you have to move these funds from the discretionary fund to a blind trust. That’s been done as we speak. I think it’s done, I’m not sure exactly. To me, it’s irrelevant to some extent because I don’t know what shares I have. so there’s no impact.”