The House of Commons ethics committee is recommending a 'sliding scale' of penalties and other sanctions for public office holders who breach the federal conflict of interest law. The committee's report, released Thursday, April 23, proposes 20 amendments to the Conflict of Interest Act. Many recommendations focus on rules around assets held by public office holders, but the report also seeks to give ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein the power to issue penalties for some violations.
Background of the Report
The report comes shortly after deputy minister for the Department of National Defence Christiane Fox was found to have broken conflict of interest rules for helping a personal acquaintance get a job in her department. Fox has faced no formal punishment for the breach, although she has been questioned by MPs and faced significant blowback from public servants. Conservative MP and committee chair John Brassard stated that Fox's case was not considered in the committee's work, as it 'just came to light' and was not part of the discussions or deliberations.
Need for Stronger Deterrence
Brassard emphasized that there is a general belief that current conflict of interest penalties are not deterrent enough. The recommendation calls for the government to develop a sliding scale of penalties in consultation with the ethics commissioner. Rather than applying a specific number to potential penalties, Brassard said the goal is to stress that discussions on the issue should take place.
Democracy Watch, an advocacy group that provided input on the committee's recommendations, has called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to penalize Fox for the violation. The group noted that while federal ethics law contains no penalties for breaking such rules, Carney has the power to suspend, demote, or fire deputy ministers for any reason.
Scope of the Conflict of Interest Act
The Conflict of Interest Act applies to public office holders and 'reporting public office holders,' a group that includes deputy ministers, heads of Crown corporations, and members of federal boards. Brassard said much of the discussion focused on prime ministers, ministers, and parliamentary secretaries, but the committee heard from witnesses expressing an appetite to increase deterrence.
Committee reports to Parliament are not binding on the government, and Liberal members of the committee issued a dissenting opinion. Liberal MPs said they 'cannot support the report as adopted by the majority' and urged the government to respond with caution.
