Champagne says he 'followed all the rules,' on Alto high-speed rail project

Finance government minister François-Phillippe champagne-ardenne says he "followed all the rules" to do trusted he wasn't in a contravene of interest related to the Alto high-speed rail project.

The minister testified at the parliamentary ethics committee Thursday after months of scrutiny from the federal Conservatives over his involvement in the proposed $90-billion high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City.

Champagne said he proactively reached out to the federal ethics commissioner when someone close to him got a job offer to become a vice-president at the Crown corporation spearheading the project.

He said the commissioner told him there was no risk of a conflict of interest because he has no power over human resources matters at Alto. He said he still instituted a screen to recuse himself from specific decisions about Alto, just to be safe.

Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein appeared at the same committee after Champagne and largely corroborated the minister's version of events.

"The minister's involvement in discussion or decisions that may benefit Alto is simply too remote to provide an opportunity to further the private interest of an Alto employee who has close ties to the minister," he said.

Because the screen Champagne proactively implemented was not recommended by the office, von Finckenstein said the commissioner's office did not post a public notice of the screen on its website, as it would do in cases where there is potential for a conflict.

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Champagne accused the Conservatives of politicizing and undermining public trust in the project.

"Despite the proactive measures taken and the ethics commissioner's unequivocal response regarding the absence of any risk of conflict of interest, this matter has nonetheless given rise to unfounded accusations, even defamation and partisan manoeuvres," Champagne said in his opening remarks.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to scrap the project, which is still in the planning stage, calling it a costly "boondoggle."

Debate at the Thursday afternoon committee was heated at times, with members regularly speaking out of turn when questions got pointed. Chair and Conservative MP John Brassard routinely had to intervene to rein in crosstalk.

Champagne warned MPs from the Conservative party and the Bloc Quebecois about making unfounded allegations as they peppered him with questions about his interactions with Alto.

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Legislation related to Alto — the High-Speed Rail Network Act — was included in the omnibus budget bill tabled by Champagne himself late last year.

Conservative MPs demanded he explain why he voted on the Alto project — including a motion to strip the high-speed rail legislation out of the budget implementation act — if he had that screen in place.

"What good is your ethics screen if you can vote on matters that specifically and exclusively relate to advancing the Alto project?" asked Conservative MP Michael Cooper.

Champagne said the principle of "general application" under the Conflict of Interest Act allows him to participate in House business that touches on Alto generally. Later, von Finckenstein agreed the minister was above board on such votes.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett pushed Champagne to release copies of correspondence between himself and the ethics commissioner, including details of the proactive screen. The minister said he would leave it to the commissioner to decide whether to release those documents.

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Later, von Finckenstein said all information shared with him is confidential unless it's made public by the individual who submitted it.

"The function of releasing is up to him, not to me," he said.

At the close of the committee, von Finckenstein said the Conflict of Interest Act is now 20 years old and should be updated for the modern era.

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