Second Report of the
Special Joint Canadian
Parliamentary/Senate
Committee
on a
Code of Conduct
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Quote of the Day
"The ability to be beyond reproach
is just the starting point to obtaining
the trust of those whom you govern"
- Joe Lor
CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT
We, the members of Parliament, individually and collectively agree to abide by the
principles, rules and obligations of this Code of Official Conduct:
PURPOSES
The purposes of the Code of Official Conduct are:
1. to recognize that service in Parliament is a public trust;
2. to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliamentarians
individually and the respect and confidence that society places in Parliament as an
institution;
3. to reassure the public that all Parliamentarians are held to standards that place the
public interest ahead of Parliamentarians' private interests and to provide a transparent
system by which the public may judge this to be the case;
4. to provide for greater certainty and guidance for Parliamentarians in how to reconcile
their private interests with their public duties;
5. to foster consensus among Parliamentarians by establishing common rules and by
providing the means by which questions relating to proper conduct may be answered by an
independent, non-partisan advisor.
PRINCIPLES
All Parliamentarians are expected to uphold the following principles:
1. Ethical Standards
Parliamentarians shallshould act with honesty and uphold the highest ethical standards, so
as to maintain and enhance public confidence and trust in the integrity of each
Parliamentarian and in the institution of Parliament.
2. Public Scrutiny
Parliamentarians shallshould perform their official duties and arrange their private
affairs in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny, an obligation that is not
fully discharged by simply acting within the law.
3. Independence
Parliamentarians shallshould take care to avoid placing themselves under any financial or
other obligation to outside individuals or organizations that might influence them in the
performance of their official duties. Particular vigilance should be exercised in dealings
with paid lobbyists.
4. Public Interest
Upon election or appointment to office, Parliamentarians shallshould arrange their private
affairs so that foreseeable real or apparent conflicts of interest may be prevented from
arising, but if a conflict does arise, it shallshould be resolved in a way that protects
the public interest.
5. Gifts and Personal Benefits
Parliamentarians shallshould not accept any gift or personal benefit connected with their
office that may reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity.
APPLICATION
1. Except where expressly stated otherwise, this Code of Official Conduct applies to all
Senators and Members of the House of Commons, who may collectively be referred to as
Parliamentarians.
2. Nothing in this Code shall preclude the Prime Minister from establishing additional
principles, rules or obligations applicable to Parliamentarians who are also public office
holders, that is, to Ministers, Secretaries of State, or Parliamentary Secretaries. In the
case of a conflict between the provisions or the interpretation of this Code and the Prime
Minister's Code for public office holders, the Prime Minister's Code shall prevail.
3. Nothing in this Code is intended to prevent or impede Parliamentarians from carrying
out activities in which they ordinarily and properly engage on behalf of constituents;
Parliamentarians may wish to familiarize themselves with the Lobbyist Registration Act.
4. It is recognized that nothing in this Code affects the jurisdiction of the House of
Commons Board of Internal Economy and the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy
(as approved by the Senate) to determine the propriety of the use of any funds, goods,
services or premises made available to Parliamentarians for the carrying out of
parliamentary functions.
5. It is recognized that maintaining a wide variety of activities outside of Parliament in
addition to their parliamentary duties enables Parliamentarians to reflect better the
communities from which they come and to maintain their expertise in their chosen fields.
Therefore, nothing in this Code is intended to prevent a Parliamentarian who is not a
public office holder from:
a. engaging in employment or in the practice of a profession;
b. carrying on a business;
c. being a director, a partner, or holding an office,
so long as the Parliamentarian, notwithstanding the activity, is able to fulfill the
obligations under this Code.
6. Nothing in this Code affects the privileges of Parliament or Parliamentarians, or the
powers of the Speakers of each House.
7. Parliamentarians shallshould promote and support this Code by leadership and example .
and shall ensure that their employees and others working under their direction are aware
of and abide by the principles of this Code.
INTERPRETATION
1. In this Code,
"family" when used with reference to a person, means
(a) the Parliamentarian's spouse; (b) a child of the Parliamentarian or the
Parliamentarian's spouse who has not reached the age of 18 or who has attained the age of
18 and is primarily dependent on the Parliamentarian or spouse for financial support;
"Jurisconsult" means the officer of Parliament appointed by resolutions of the
Senate and House of Commons;
"Parliamentarian" means a member of the Senate or of the House of Commons;
"Prime Minister's Code" means the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code
for Public Office Holders, dated June 1994, and any published amendments thereto;
"private interest" means
(a) an asset, a liability or a financial interest,
(b) a source of income,
(c) a position of director or officer in a corporation, association or union, or of
partner in a partnership, or of senior officer in any of them, but does not include an
interest that concerns the remuneration or benefits related to membership in the House of
Commons or the Senate. "source of income" means,
(a) in the case of employment, the employer;
(b) in the case of income as an independent contractor, the party with whom the contract
is made;
(c) in the case of income arising from a business or profession, the business or
profession.
"spouse" means a person:
(a) who is married to the Parliamentarian, or «(b) who is living with the Parliamentarian
in a conjugal relationship and
(i) has so lived for a period of at least one year, or
(ii) Sis a parent of a child of whom the Parliamentarian is a parent(c) a position of
director or officer in a corporation, association or union, or of partner in a
partnership, or of senior officer in any of them, but does not include an interest that
concerns the remuneration or benefits related to membership in the House of Commons or the
Senate. "source of income" means,
(a) in the case of employment, the employer;
(b) in the case of income as an independent contractor, the party with whom the contract
is made;
(c) in the case of income arising from a business or profession, the business or
profession.
"spouse" means a person: (a) who is married to the Parliamentarian, or «(b) who
is living with the Parliamentarian in a conjugal relationship and
(i) has so lived for a period of at least one year, or
(ii) Sis a parent of a child of whom the Parliamentarian is a parent
A. FURTHERING PRIVATE INTERESTS
In the exercise of their duties and functions, Parliamentarians shall not take any
actions, make any decisions, or participate in making any decisions in which they know, or
reasonably should know, that there is the opportunity to further, directly or indirectly,
their own private interests, the private interests of a member of their family, or
improperly to further another person's private interest.
B. USING INFLUENCE
Parliamentarians shall not seek to use their position to seek to influence a decision made
or to be made by another person so as to further, directly or indirectly, their own
private interests, the private interests of a member of their family or improperly to
further another person's private interest.
C. INSIDER INFORMATION
1. Parliamentarians shall not use information that is gained in their capacity as
Parliamentarians and that is not generally available to the public to further or seek to
further, directly or indirectly, their private interests, the private interests of a
member of their family, or improperly to further or seek to further another person's
private interest.
2. Parliamentarians shall not communicate information that is gained in their capacity as
Parliamentarians and that is not generally available to the public to another person if
they know or reasonably should know that the information may be used to further or seek to
further, directly or indirectly, their private interests, the private interests of a
member or their family, or improperly to further or seek to further another person's
private interests.
D. DECLARATION OF AN INTEREST
1. Parliamentarians who have reasonable grounds to believe that they have a private
interest in a matter that is before either House of Parliament, or a committee of either
of them, shall, if present during consideration of the matter, disclose the general nature
of the private interest.
2. Where a Parliamentarian has complied with subsection (1), the Clerk of the House or of
the committee shall record the nature of the private interest disclosed and shall file the
information with the Jurisconsult who shall make it publicly available.
3. Parliamentarians shall not vote on any question in which they have a direct pecuniary
interest.
E. GIFTS AND PERSONAL BENEFITS
1. Parliamentarians shall not accept, directly or indirectly, any gift or personal
benefit, except compensation authorized by law, that is connected with their position or
their parliamentary functions.
2. Subsection 1 The foregoing rule does not apply to gifts or personal benefits received
as a normal expression of courtesy or protocol, or within the customary standards of
hospitality that normally accompany the duties or responsibilities of office.
3. Where a gift or personal benefit that may be accepted under the exception in subsection
2 exceeds $250 in value, or $250 in value from one source in a 12-month period, the
Parliamentarian shall, within 30 days of receiving the gift, file with the Jurisconsult a
statement disclosing the nature of the gift or benefit, its source, and the circumstances
under which it was given, which statement shall be filed with the Parliamentarian's public
disclosure statement and made available for inspection by the public.
F. SPONSORED TRAVEL
1. Parliamentarians shall disclose to the Jurisconsult all visits they make arising from
or relating to their position where the cost of any such travel exceeds $250 and is not
wholly borne by the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the Parliamentarian personally, any
inter-parliamentary association or friendship group recognized by either chamber, or any
recognized party.
2. The statement shall disclose the name of the sponsoring person, company or
organization, the destination or destinations, the purpose and length of the trip, and the
nature of the benefits received, which statement shall be filed within 30 days
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