Elaine Zakaib is leaving the National Assembly to lead the troubled Quebec retailer Jacob.

The women's clothing chain filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2014 after being under creditor protection since November 2010.

Starting Tuesday Zakaib will be the chief of restructuring and vice-president of strategy and finance for Jacob.

She is also refusing to accept the transition allowance she is allowed as an MNA.

Short span in politics

First elected in 2012, she was Minister of Industry during the short-lived Parti Quebecois government of 2012 to 2014.

Zakaib was re-elected in 2014 and named critic of the Treasury Board.

She is expected to make the official announcement listing the reasons she is resigning as MNA for Richelieu on Monday afternoon.

Before running for office Zakaib spent two decades working for the FTQ Solidarity fund and wiretaps played during the Charbonneau Commission into corruption in the construction industry showed that Zakaib was aware of irregularities concerning how firms controlled by Tony Accurso were funded, but agreed with the union president Michel Arsenault not to discuss the matter.

On wiretaps Zakaib could heard saying "I don't want this to get out."

The wiretap conversations played during the inquiry in January 2014 showed Zakaib did little to stop it, and also wanted nothing to do with a growing expense account scandal involving the head of the FTQ-Construction Jocelyn Dupuis.

On that topic Zakaib said "The less I know, the better."

When the wiretaps were played before the Inquiry Zakaib said that when she learned of the unfair playing field in 2009 she asked that it be stopped.

The head of the FTQ-Construction at the time, Jocelyn Dupuis, was convicted last week of fraud.

Her departure leaves the PQ with just 29 members in the National Assembly.