Premier François Legault of Quebec has welcomed back Pierre Fitzgibbon to the government after he resigned in June due to ethics issues.
Legault said today at a press conference with Fitzgibbon that he will resume his post as economy minister after selling stakes in two companies to meet the ethics commissioner’s requirements.
Fitzgibbon, who represents the suburban Montreal riding of Terrebonne, told reporters he’d considered leaving politics but ultimately decided he wanted to continue in the role. He also announced he would run again in next year’s provincial election.
Fitzgibbon left cabinet after he was targeted by the ethics czar for failing to divest himself of shares in two companies that did business with the province and could place him in a conflict of interest.
Commissioner Ariane Mignolet recommended Fitzgibbon be suspended from the legislature until he sold those shares or until he resigned from his role as a cabinet minister and placed the shares in a blind trust.
Fitzgibbon refused to specify how much money he lost when he sold his stock on Wednesday, stating only that it “wasn’t the best financial transaction” of his career.
Fitzgibbon claimed in June that if he had taken the offers he had received at the time, he would have lost $1 million.
When the matter was settled, Legault promised to reinstate Fitzgibbon. In the meanwhile, Finance Minister Eric Girard was in charge.
Source_ globalnews.ca
