Government
Ethics Campaign
Advocating stronger, more effectively enforced
ethics rules for candidates, politicians,
government staff and officials, and lobbyists
2-part YouTube interview with
StraightGoods.ca on
unethical relationships between Canadian politicians and
lobbyists
Democracy
Watch has produced the following documents in its
Government Ethics Campaign:
(newest to oldest)
Links
to Ethics Rules and Enforcement Systems in Canada
and elsewhere in the world
- Office of the
Federal Canadian Conflict of Interest and Ethics
Commissioner oversees and enforces the following
ethics rules and registeries for Cabinet Ministers,
staff of Cabinet ministers and Cabinet appointees:
- Conflict
of Interest Act (As of July 9, 2007, this
Act replaced (and weakened because it deletes
the rules requiring honesty, and the avoidance of
apparent and potential conflicts of interest) the
February 6, 2006 version of the Conflict of
Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office
Holders)
- Guideline
on
Gifts (including Invitations, Fundraisers and
Business Lunches) (click on link to Guideline (PDF
format) on page this link takes you to)
- Federal
Public Registry for Public Office Holders
(Searchable on-line database of financial statements
detailing some of the property and investments owned
by the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, some of
their staff, and some government officials (non-public
servants appointed by Cabinet) who are covered by the
Conflict of Interest Act)
- Accountable
Government: A Guide for Ministers and Ministers of
State-2008 (first published in 1979, and
updated regularly (link takes you to version published
October 30, 2008) and applies to Cabinet ministers and
junior Cabinet ministers (known as Ministers of State)
-- supposedly enforced by the Prime Minister of Canada
but no enforcement actions have ever been taken by any
Prime Minister)
- Federal
Treasury Board Guidelines for Ministers' Offices
(supposedly enforced by the Treasury Board Secretariat,
the federal government department that oversees spending
within departments and other government institutions,
but no enforcement actions have ever been taken by the
Treasury Board)
- The Office of the
Federal Canadian Conflict of Interest and Ethics
Commissioner also oversees and enforces the
following ethics rules and registeries for members of
the federal House of Commons (known as MPs):
- Office
of
the Canadian Senate Ethics Officer who oversees
the following ethics rules and registries for members of
the Senate of Canada (but cannot enforce the rules
without the approval of a committee of Senators):
- Federal
Treasury
Board Guidelines for Canadian Crown Corporation
Appointments (in force as of March 15, 2004)
- Public Sector
Integrity Commissioner oversees whistleblower
complaints about wrongdoing by federal government
employees (known as public servants), under the Public
Servants Disclosure Protection Act including
violations of laws, regulations, codes, policies,
guidelines and the following ethics rules for public
servants (Disclosure
of wrongdoing database):
- Canadian
federal
Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (see
especially November
2009 Guideline on Rule 8 in the Code)
- Ethics
Rules for Federal Judges
- Rules
for Federal Administrative Tribunals
- Provincial
and
Territorial Ethics Commissioners for Politicians
- Canadian
Provincial
and
Territorial Ethics Laws for Politicians (NOTE:
rules do not cover government appointees or employees
(known as public servants), who are covered by a
separate set of rules in each province and territory
(although the Ontario Commissioner does handle public
servant whistleblower complaints))
- Province
of Ontario's Conflict of Interest Commissioner for
government appointees and employees
- General
Government
Ethics Links Page developed by University of
British Columbia
- Council on
Governmental Ethics Laws (U.S. organization that
tracks developments in government ethics, money in
politics and lobbying laws across North America)
- United
Nations Convention Against Corruption (signed
December 2003, in force as of December 2005)
- Global
Integrity (non-governmental organization that,
through an international research effort involving local
organizations, individuals and journalists, rates
countries good governance and anti-corruption systems
and democratic processes)
- EthicsWorld.org
(a site that has many key links to government and
business ethics news and watchdog organizations around
the world)
- The
Vatican's Policy Statement "The Fight Against
Corruption" (this September 2006 statement calls
on Roman Catholic dioceses world-wide to work for legal
and societal changes to end corruption)
Links
to Lobbyist Regulation Systems in Canada and
elsewhere in the world
- Office
of the Canadian federal Commissioner of Lobbying
- Canadian provincial lobbyist registries:
- City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- DemocracyLawBlog.ca (blog
that tracks legal developments in democratic reform laws
in Canada and in a couple of other countries)
- Council on
Governmental Ethics Laws (U.S. organization that
tracks developments in government ethics, money in
politics and lobbying laws across North America)
- Global
Integrity (non-governmental organization that,
through an international research effort involving local
organizations, individuals and journalists, rates
countries good governance and anti-corruption systems
and democratic processes)
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