CAQ president had ties to predatory loans company: investigation

CTV Montreal: CAQ official in hot water The president of the Coalition Avenir Quebec is being accused of business interests that put him at odds with his party’s positions.

A conflict of interest forced the president of the Coalition Avenir Quebec to quit one of his business roles on Thursday.

A Journal de Montreal investigation found that Stephane Le Bouyonnec, who’s running for a seat in the La Prairie riding, has ties to iCash, an online money lender that issues high-interest loans outside of Quebec.

Le Bouyonnec has also been serving as the president of the board of Techbanx, a company that develops algorithms to evaluate credit and speed up the loan process.

The investigation found that Techbanx was linked to iCash.

In the past, the CAQ has voted for more consumer protection measures, including one to cap annual interest rates at 35 per cent.

Le Bouyonnec resigned from his role as the president after the investigation was made public.

He said he’d also give up his shares in Techbanx.

“My involvement with this company is no longer compatible with my role as president of the CAQ and a candidate in the next Quebec election,” he said in a statement.

The incident led Premier Philippe Couillard to accuse the CAQ of hypocrisy.

“Mr. Legault likes to give lessons to a lot of people, so I won’t do the same to him,” he said. “It’s up to him to manage that. He’s always been active in accusing us of many, many things and now he has a situation to manage himself. Let’s see how he will do it.”

Le Buoyonnec served as an MNA from 2012 to 2014 before being appointed party president.