Quebec may name ethics commissioner faster than planned

The Quebec government is ready to accelerate the creation of a public ethics watchdog, Liberal house leader Jacques Dupuis said.

Opposition parties have been pressuring the Liberals to appoint a new ethics commissioner by the summer, partly in light of a questionable $355-million water meter contract awarded by the City of Montreal.

On Tuesday, Dupuis said a new watchdog could be named more quickly, and could be asked to review municipal and provincial cases of alleged misconduct.

The Quebec government had indicated this spring it hoped to name a new ethics commissioner once a new code of ethics for provincial politicians is complete, something that was expected to happen in the fall.

Elected officials would have a more clear understanding of what is expected of them in office if there was an ethics commissioner in place, who could "ensure integrity" and protect politicians' reputations, Opposition leader Pauline Marois said at the national assembly Tuesday.

Quebec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir said elected city officials need to be scrutinized more carefully.

"It's not a coincidence [that] we have so many controversies around possible conflicts of interest and corruption in municipalities," he said. "I think the public expects the government of Quebec, in this endeavour, [to] take that into account.

There have been questions about whether a single ethics commissioner could handle both municipal and provincial investigations of alleged misconduct.