The former Minister of Education from January 2016 to 2018, Sébastien Proulx, does not rule out suing the Québec Ombudsman following the release on Thursday of a report blaming his ministry for “preferential treatment” to organisms.
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“It is clear that my integrity is being attacked. I will look at my options. I will start by answering all the questions regarding the nature of the program and regarding my work and then I will see, ”he said in an interview with TVA Nouvelles 22h.
Mr. Proulx maintains that he has nothing to be ashamed of in this file and that he “regrets nothing”.
“I will never apologize for having supported the most credible organizations in the aid of children in Quebec, such as Allô Prof and the Breakfast Club, when I was Minister of Education”, declares he in a press release released Thursday evening.
In its conclusions made public on Thursday, the Québec Ombudsman concludes that “the discretionary power to grant a subsidy was exercised in an unfair manner. In several situations, organizations have truly benefited from preferential treatment”.
Although the Québec Ombudsman did not mention the department and firm in question in its documents, it was revealed later that day that it was the Department of Education and that the complaint was made in February 2018.
Organizations that have benefited from the $60 million program include the Breakfast Club of Canada, the First Nations Adult Education Trust, Allô prof, la cantine pour tous, the Fédération des Comités de Parents du Québec , Secondary en spectacle, the Institute for Learning Disabilities and the Quebec Foundation for Literacy.
Sébastien Proulx, who held the post of Minister of Education at the time, maintains that “these essential organizations are financed by a discretionary program of support for partners, precisely to avoid them the administrative maze and accelerate the response to needs”.
The former Minister of Education describes the handling of this case as “indicating Quebec institutions”.
“I was never called. I have never been met. I was never asked to give my version of the facts. Today we are insidiously disseminating “the findings” of a report that we keep confidential”, he laments in the press release.
“And what would have been my fault? Shake the apple tree to better support organizations that feed children, help children with learning difficulties, help Aboriginal children, help children with disabilities!” he adds.
Sébastien Proulx says he has nothing to be ashamed of.
“And if I had to do it once more, I would do exactly the same thing once more,” said the former minister.
