Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne faced questioning by MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee surrounding his decision to implement an ethics screen around the Alto high-speed rail project. The ethics commissioner had advised Champagne that the screen is not necessary.
Champagne told MPs on June 11 that after his partner was hired as vice-president at the Crown corporation Alto, which is in charge of a proposed $60 billion to $90 billion high-speed rail project from Toronto to Quebec City, he contacted the ethics commissioner and informed the office of this.
Champagne said he was told that there is no risk of a conflict of interest, but despite this, “I nevertheless chose, out of an abundance of caution, to implement and maintain an ethics screen to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.”…