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“First of all, the minister didn’t act with any ill intention of any kind. Nor has any substantial harm of any kind occurred.”

The ruling, released Thursday after nearly two years of interviews with 21 witnesses, said Paradis violated one section of the act that prohibits giving preferential treatment to one person or company and making a decision that put him in a conflict of interest.

Paradis directed his staff to meet with Jaffer even after the latter was arrested on cocaine possession and drunk driving charges. The cocaine charge was eventually dropped.

Paradis’s ministerial staff at Public Works, where he was minister at the time, explicitly asked him if he still wanted Jaffer and his business partners in Green Power Generation to meet with officials.

According to Dawson, Paradis stood by his decision and said he wanted the meeting to go ahead because Jaffer’s solar panel project “was unrelated to his legal troubles.”

“I find it odd that Mr. Paradis would have asked his department to proceed with the meeting in these circumstances. I question whether he would have done the same for someone with whom he did not have a prior relationship,” Dawson wrote in her ruling.

Paradis said Thursday he accepted the commissioner’s ruling.

“I have the privilege of serving Canadians as a minister of the Crown … duties I have always performed with the utmost integrity,” Paradis said in a statement. “In the future, I will take further precautions when approached by Canadians seeking more information about the services and programs provided by their government.”