PQ pushes for ethics commission

Quebec's Opposition said it will try Wednesday to force the creation of an ethics commission at the national assembly.

The Parti Québécois said recent revelations of conduct by past and present provincial Liberals have gone by unchecked because there is no independent watchdog for politicians.

"We need somebody who is not involved in a party, and will apply the rules," said PQ critic Agnès Maltais.

Premier Jean Charest has said he's not opposed to the idea in principle.

No independent office or person currently oversees political ethics at Quebec's provincial legislature.

Former health minister Philippe Couillard was recently cleared by Quebec's lobbying commissioner, André Côté, after being accused of improper lobbying.

But Côté's investigation revealed Couillard did negotiate the terms of his current job while he was still in cabinet and a member of government.

Couillard now works for Persistence Capital partners, a parent subsidiary of Medisys Health Group, a Montreal-based network of private health clinics.