Mary Dawson, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner for the House of Commons.
Under s. 22(1) of the Conflict of Interest Act, today, is the deadline for Liberal ministers, parliamentary secretaries, and ministerial employees and advisors, to submit disclosures to Mary Dawson, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, of their private and business financial interests. The purpose of the disclosures is to provide an opportunity for the commissioner and her team to advice public office holders of steps that they can take to reduce the risk of a conflict of interest arising between their official duties in public office, and their private and business lives.
However, the Conflict of Interest Act also provides that these disclosures to the commissioner are confidential. The commissioner publishes a high-level summary of the disclosures, but without any specific financial information about the private and business financial interests of individual ministers, parliamentary secretaries, employees, or advisors.
The Conflict of Interest Act was enacted by s. 2 of the Federal Accountability Act, a massive piece of legislation relating to accountability and transparency at many levels of the federal governmental apparatus, that was passed as a major campaign promise by the Conservative Party in late 2006.
Some feel that the rules in the Act do not go far enough. Members who identify financial interests that could pose a conflict of interest risk can be asked to sell those interests at an arms-length transaction, or to have those interests placed in a blind trust that meets the requirements of the Act. However, there is no penalty for non-compliance.
This is in stark contrast to many other jurisdictions, such as the United States, where there are very high financial penalties associated with breaches of ethics rules. In Canada, however, the commissioner's investigative powers are limited, and the only financial penalties that her office can apply are those related to submission deadlines ($500).
Do Canada's conflict of interest rules need a revamp?
Source: Deadline today for Liberal cabinet to file financial report under ethics rules (CBC News)
