No sanction for Daoust over wine-industry bill

If you own a vineyard, you should not be part of the process in adopting a bill dealing with the wine industry, Quebec’s ethics commission has concluded.

But former Liberal cabinet minister Jacques Daoust is off the hook as far as punishment goes.

The ethics commissioner, Jacques Saint-Laurent, has chosen not to recommend any sanctions against Daoust, even if he has found him to be in a conflict of interest because he sat in on debate about Bill 88 as the bill wended its way through the adoption process at the National Assembly.

It’s unclear whether Saint-Laurent could sanction Daoust even if he wanted. Daoust, the former transport minister and economy minister, resigned in August over allegations he didn’t tell the whole truth in the sale of Rona to American interests.

He also quit as the MNA for Verdun.

Responding to a complaint lodged by Coalition Avenir Québec MNA François Bonnardel, Saint-Laurent examined Daoust’s activities during the adoption of Bill 88, which authorizes the sale of Quebec-produced wine in grocery stores and dépanneurs.

Daoust is the owner of Les Vignes des Bacchantes Inc., an Eastern Townships vineyard.