Information & Ethics Committee on June 11th, 2026

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Here again, we must be mindful of what the committee is saying, because the Commissioner of Conflict of Interest and Ethics himself acknowledged receipt of the letter. He said: “Nevertheless, you provided us with a copy of a letter last September.”

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm talking about your screen.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

All right.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I'll come back to the letter later on.

Could you explain your screen to us so that we can understand it in very concrete and specific terms? It seems clear in your mind, but it isn't to me.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

The documents can be obtained from the Commissioner of Conflict of Interest and Ethics.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

To the best of my knowledge, the documents are not currently available on the Office of the Commissioner's website.

Here is my question: can you provide the committee with information about this screen, which you've mentioned several times?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

The letter was sent to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You're the one I'm asking.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

If the Commissioner of Conflict of Interest and Ethics determines that, under the act—because the act governs these principles—providing you with a copy is the right thing to do, he will make that decision. It is up to him to do so.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You—a minister who advocates for transparency—do not want to submit the description of your so-called screen to the committee.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

As I said, the letter was sent to the Ethics Commissioner. That decision is his to make, because there are legal rules around that.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I see.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I encourage you to ask the commissioner.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

However, there are a number of things.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I checked with the commissioner about the matter, and he will decide how to proceed.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

You are refusing to provide the committee with information describing your filter, then. That's my understanding. That's fine.

Coming back to—

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

At no time did the minister refuse to do that. I want to follow up on what Mr. Bonin said. I am asking you again. The question was asked, and the answer was clear. The documents are available from the commissioner.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Sari.

Go ahead, Mr. Bonin.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

The minister didn't answer the question.

This is my question: Can he share the information on the filter with the committee?

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

He answered that question as well.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Pardon me, but my question was crystal clear. Unless he proves otherwise, the minister is refusing to answer it.

Minister, could you also provide the committee with your letter and the commissioner's response, since the information isn't available on his office's website?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

As I told you, there are rules around the sharing of information with the Ethics Commissioner. I invite you to ask him. He received a copy of the letter I sent and confirmed that he did.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Do you think it's right after all this time that your letter isn't available anywhere?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

I would say that it complies with the process currently in place.

I set up the filter voluntarily, because obviously, it's administered by the Clerk of the Privy Council. I sent it to the Ethics Commissioner on my initiative. It's up to him to decide whether it should be shared with the committee or not.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I understand. I see how you feel about transparency. I would have preferred you make the letter public in the interest of transparency.

The appearance of a conflict of interest is what's undermining your credibility or, at least, people's trust. In this situation, you are aware that you proposed legislation, Bill C‑15, part of which deals with Alto. The bill confers expropriation powers that go against the Expropriation Act.

Why didn't you just take the part about Alto out of the omnibus budget bill? That way, the Minister of Transport could have dealt with that part, and you wouldn't have had to state your position, appear before the Standing Committee on Finance or even vote on the matter? Why didn't you recuse yourself from the process and take that part out? I'm not talking about the whole bill. I'm referring only to the part about Alto. Why didn't you put it in another bill? That would have avoided the appearance of a conflict of interest.