Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should not have appointed an insider’s family member as interim ethics commissioner..“This is the same as someone whose going to be facing a trial picking the family member to serve as the judge on their trial,” said Barrett in a Thursday video..“It’s absolutely unacceptable.” .The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner’s Office announced senior general counsel Martine Richard would be the interim ethics commissioner for six months on March 28..READ MORE: Interim ethics commissioner sister-in-law to Liberal minister, raising conflict of interest concerns.Barrett questioned the appointment of Richard because of the family connection to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc due to her being the sister of his wife, Jolene Richard..“This is a cabinet of serial law breakers, and now they’ve got an inside woman working at the ethics commissioner’s office,” he said..The video starts off with Barrett calling the role of the ethic commissioner “incredibly important.” He said people have seen how important due to Trudeau being found guilty twice of breaking ethics laws..The Conservative MP accused LeBlanc of being among a group of serial ethics law breakers. He has put forward a motion to have hearings take place at the House of Commons Ethics Committee..Barrett concluded by saying Canadians “deserve to have confidence in these important independent officers of Parliament.” .“And this type of appointment doesn’t give Canadians that kind of confidence,” he said..Trade Minister Mary Ng apologized but refused to resign in December after admitting she directed sole-sourced contracts to a longtime friend..READ MORE: Trade minister apologizes for ethics violation, refuses to resign.“Minister Ng twice failed to recognize a potential conflict of interest involving a friend,” said former ethics commissioner Mario Dion..She admitted she was “sorry for this shortcoming, and it will not happen again.”
