Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he wasn’t involved in the decision to appoint his sister-in-law as the interim ethics commissioner amid criticism from opposition parties that cabinet showed unethical favouritism in choosing her for the role.
“In order to avoid any opportunity to provide preferential treatment or to further the private interest of my relative, Ms. Martine Richard, I recused myself on March 28 from all discussions, decisions, debates or votes relating to her appointment as interim Ethics Commissioner,” LeBlanc said in a filing with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Ethics, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Richard, who has worked in the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner for 10 years, was named the new ethics watchdog for the next six months as her office searches for someone to permanently take the place of outgoing ethics commissioner Mario Dion….