PQ expels member for taking gifts from engineering firm in previous job
The Canadian Press | Posted: May 16, 2017 5:53 PM | Last Updated: May 16, 2017
Gaétan Lelièvre will sit as an independent representing eastern Quebec riding of Gaspé
A member of the Opposition Parti Québécois has been ejected from caucus after admitting to having been in a conflict of interest while he was a municipal administrator.
Gaétan Lelièvre, who represents the eastern Quebec riding of Gaspé, will sit in the legislature as an independent.
He admitted Tuesday to having received numerous gifts and perks from engineering firm Roche while serving as director general of the city of Gaspé, a job he held between 2001 and 2010.
He was elected to the National Assembly in 2012.
PQ Leader Jean-François Lisée was critical of Lelièvre for failing to inform him about incidents reported in Quebecor newspapers on Tuesday, including a number of compromising emails.
Lelièvre apologized, saying he should not have accepted any benefits and should have disclosed the matter to his political party, but he added that none of it was illegal.
Neither Lisée nor Lelièvre took questions from reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
The allegations stem from 2008 and 2009 and had been reported during Quebec's inquiry into corruption in the construction industry.
In his testimony before the Charbonneau commission, Lelièvre denied receiving gifts in exchange for contracts doled out by the municipality of Gaspé.