Rhéal Séguin
Quebec City — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010 12:09AM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2010 12:14AM EST
Premier Jean Charest faced another embarrassment Tuesday when a provincial Liberal member for the riding of Rivière-du-Loup pleaded guilty to charges under the Lobbying Act.
Jean D'Amour was accused of acting as a lobbyist for the BPR engineering firm shortly after quitting as mayor of the municipality of Rivière-du-Loup.
Mr. D'Amour paid a $500 fine but stated Tuesday that he acted in good faith at the time but now he just wanted to “turn the page” on a difficult situation.
The Liberal MNA was the centre of an investigation by the province's lobbying commissioner who last week tabled a report that uncovered 84 breaches to the Lobbying Act involving senior members of the BPR engineering firm.
The law prohibits a former mayor to act as a lobbyist for at least two years after quitting politics. In a press release, Mr. D'Amour explained he wasn't aware that he was breaking any laws.
Mr. D'Amour, a former party president who was elected to office in a by-election last June, has been entangled in a number of controversial situations. He was reinstated in caucus last December after being cleared of allegations of accepting improper political donations. He had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. While party president, he placed his leader in quite a predicament by unveiling to the media that the party was secretly paying Mr. Charest $75,000 a year.
The opposition parties immediately demanded that the Liberals expel Mr. D'Amour from caucus, with the Action démocratique du Québec calling for his outright resignation.
Parti Québécois deputy house leader Agnes Maltais said Mr. D'Amour had to know he was breaking the law. She asked that the report tabled by the lobbying commissioner be made public in order to know how many breaches of the law Mr. D'Amour had committed.
BPR has stated that it was unclear whether any violations had been committed since engineers were among those exempted from the law. However, the provincial Order of Engineers has questioned Mr. D’Amour’s credentials and have launched an investigation into his activities.
Liberal caucus whip Pierre Moreau said there was no reason to expel Mr. D'Amour from caucus.
“The people of Rivière-du-Loup gave him a mandate. It is not up to me to judge that decision,” Mr. Moreau said.
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