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Benefit in
common with
others
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(7) Subsection (1) does not apply to a
benefit a Parliamentarian is entitled to receive
under or pursuant to any Act, in common with
others of the public or of a class of which the
Parliamentarian is a member, where the
benefit is given to anyone who meets the
qualifications specified in or pursuant to the
Act without the exercise of discretion by any
person.
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Benefit by
inheritance
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(8) In the case of a contract, benefit or
interest acquired by a Parliamentarian by
inheritance or other operation of law that was
not initiated by the Parliamentarian,
subsections (1) and (2) do not apply for the
twelve-month period following the
acquisition.
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Contract etc.
held in trust
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(9) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to
a contract, benefit or interest held by a
Parliamentarian in the capacity of trustee for
another, where the Parliamentarian has no
personal financial interest.
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DISCLOSURE OF PRIVATE INTERESTS |
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Confidential
disclosure
statement
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11. (1) Every Parliamentarian shall,
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file with the Ethics Counsellor a full statement
of the Parliamentarian's private interests and
those of the Parliamentarian's family.
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Family
interests
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(2) Information relating to the private
interests of the Parliamentarian's family shall
be to the best of the Parliamentarian's
knowledge, information and belief, and the
Parliamentarian shall make reasonable efforts
to determine the information.
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Content of
disclosure
statement
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(3) The confidential disclosure statement
shall,
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Meeting with
the Ethics
Counsellor
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(4) After reviewing the confidential
disclosure statement received from the
Parliamentarian, the Ethics Counsellor may
require the Parliamentarian, and the
Parliamentarian's spouse, to meet or
communicate with the Ethics Counsellor to
ensure that adequate disclosure has been made
and to discuss the Parliamentarian's
obligations under this Act.
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Material
change
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(5) Any material change to the information
required to be disclosed by subsection (1) shall
be reported in writing by the Parliamentarian
to the Ethics Counsellor not more than thirty
days after the change occurs.
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Disclosure
held in
confidence
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(6) Every statement filed by a
Parliamentarian with the Ethics Counsellor
under this section shall be kept confidential by
the Ethics Counsellor.
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Public
disclosure
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12. (1) The Ethics Counsellor shall prepare
a public disclosure statement for every
Parliamentarian, which shall be submitted to
the Parliamentarian for review.
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Content of
public
statement
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(2) The public disclosure statement shall,
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Categoriza- tion of interests
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(3) An interest in a partnership or
corporation, may be qualified in the public
disclosure statement by the words ``nominal'',
``significant'', or ``controlling'' where in the
opinion of the Ethics Counsellor it would be in
the public interest to do so.
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Items not to
be disclosed
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(4) The following shall not be included in a
public disclosure statement:
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Other
disclosures
withheld
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(5) The Ethics Counsellor may withhold
information from the public disclosure
statement if it is the Ethics Counsellor's
opinion that
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Public
inspection
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(6) The public disclosure statement of each
Parliamentarian shall be placed on file at the
office of the Ethics Counsellor and made
available for public inspection during normal
business hours.
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Evasion
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13. No Parliamentarian shall sell or transfer
a private interest on terms or conditions that
have as their purpose the circumvention of any
of the provisions of this Act.
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ETHICS COUNSELLOR |
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Ethics
Counsellor
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14. (1) The Ethics Counsellor shall be
appointed by order of the Governor in Council
on the recommendation of the Senate and
House of Commons in accordance with
subsection (2) as an officer of Parliament.
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Nomination
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(2) The Joint Committee shall search for
and select a person to be recommended to be
appointed as Ethics Counsellor and report its
recommendation to each House of Parliament.
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Approval by
both Houses
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(3) If the recommendation of the Joint
Committee is approved by both Houses, the
Speakers shall communicate the
recommendation to the Governor in Council.
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Term of
Office
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(4) The Ethics Counsellor shall hold office
for a term of seven years, and may be
re-appointed for a further term or terms, but
may be removed at any time by resolution of
the Senate and the House of Commons.
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Continuance
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(5) If no person has been appointed to
succeed an Ethics Counsellor by the end of a
term, the Ethics Counsellor shall continue to
hold office until re-appointed or until a
successor is appointed, whichever first occurs.
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Duties
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(6) The Ethics Counsellor shall carry out the
duties assigned to the Ethics Counsellor by
this Act and by the Joint Committee on
Official Conduct.
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General
direction by
the
Committee
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(7) The Ethics Counsellor shall be under the
general direction of the Joint Committee.
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Staff
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(8) There may be appointed such officers
and staff as the Ethics Counsellor may require
to fulfil the duties required by this Act.
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Information
kept in
confidence
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(9) The Ethics Counsellor, and all persons
appointed pursuant to subsection (8), shall
swear an oath or make a solemn declaration to
keep confidential all information relating to
Parliamentarians or their families' interests or
property, that comes to their knowledge under
this Act.
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Annual report
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(10) The Ethics Counsellor shall report
annually on the affairs of the office to the
Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Commons, who shall cause the
report to be laid before each House.
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Idem
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(11) In an annual report, the Ethics
Counsellor shall take every reasonable
precaution to avoid revealing any information
likely to identify the personal affairs of a
Parliamentarian or a member of a
Parliamentarian's family.
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Duties
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15. The duties of the Ethics Counsellor shall
be:
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Opinion to the
Parliamen- tarian
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16. (1) In response to a request in writing
from a Parliamentarian on any matter
respecting the obligations of the
Parliamentarian under this Act, the Ethics
Counsellor may make inquiries and provide a
written opinion and recommendations to the
Parliamentarian, which is to be maintained in
confidence by the Ethics Counsellor and may
be made public only by or with the written
consent of the Parliamentarian.
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Opinion
binding on the
Ethics
Counsellor
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(2) Any opinion given by the Ethics
Counsellor to a Parliamentarian is binding on
the Ethics Counsellor in relation to any
subsequent consideration of the subject matter
of the opinion, provided that all the relevant
facts were disclosed to the Ethics Counsellor.
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