Bill C-388

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First Reading

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	Gifts, hospitality and other benefits
Prohibition	20. (1) A minister shall not, directly or indirectly, accept a gift, hospitality or a personal benefit that arises, even indirectly, out of the performance of the minister's official duties and responsibilities, if the gift, hospitality or other advantage could have an influence on the performance of the minister's official duties and responsibilities.
Prohibition	(2) A minister shall not, directly or indirectly, on his or her own behalf, accept a gift, hospitality or other benefit, excluding remuneration authorized by law and any other reasonable fee related to the minister's duties, from a person other than the minister's spouse, family member or close personal friend, where the total value of the gift, hospitality or other benefit from any one source in a twelve-month period is greater than $200.
Acceptance on behalf of Her Majesty	(3) For greater certainty, a minister may, on behalf of Her Majesty, accept, directly or indirectly, a gift or hospitality and where the minister does so, the gift or hospitality belongs to Her Majesty.
Consultation	(4) Where a minister is uncertain whether it is appropriate to accept, on the minister's own behalf, a gift, hospitality or other benefit, the minister shall consult the Commissioner.
	Preferential treatment
Preferential treatment	21. (1) A minister shall take care to avoid being placed or appearing to be placed under an obligation to any person, organization or representative of a person or organization, where the person, organization or representative could profit from preferential treatment on the part of the minister.
Family member	(2) A minister shall not hire or contract with members of the minister's family.
Family member	(3) A minister shall not knowingly permit a department or agency for which the minister is responsible
	(a) to hire or contract with members of the minister's family; or
	(b) to hire or contract with a member of the family of another minister.
Definition of members of the minister's family	(4) For the purposes of this section, ``members of the minister's family'' include the minister's
	(a) father;
	(b) mother;
	(c) brothers; and
	(d) sisters.
Transfer of ownership	22. A minister shall not sell or transfer ownership of property belonging to the minister, to members of the minister's family or any other person in order to avoid complying with the provisions of this Part and Parts 3 and 5.
	PART 5
	DIVESTMENT
Divestment	23. (1) Not later than one hundred and twenty days after a person is appointed to hold office as minister or, if the person held this position on the coming into force of this Act, not later than one hundred and twenty days after the coming into force of this Act, a minister shall divest himself or herself of controlled assets of which the minister is the owner, with the exception of assets that are
	(a) exempt;
	(b) recorded on a list by the Commissioner under section 9; or
	(c) in the Commissioner's opinion,
	(i) pledged to a lending institution as collateral, or
	(ii) of such value as to be practically non-marketable.
Divestment plan	(2) Where a minister is required under subsection (1) to divest controlled assets under that subsection, the minister shall submit a divestment plan in the prescribed form to the Commissioner for the Commissioner's approval.
Approval of divestment plan	(3) The Commissioner shall not approve a divestment plan unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the controlled assets
	(a) will be sold to another person in an arm's length transaction;
	(b) will be placed in a blind trust; or
	(c) will be the subject of a blind management arrangement.
Obligation	(4) A minister shall comply with the divestment plan approved by the Commission in respect of the minister.
Modification	(5) A minister shall not modify a blind management arrangement or a blind trust that has been approved by the Commissioner without the Commissioner's approval of the proposed modification.
	PART 6
	RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibi- lity	24. For a greater certainty, a minister shall be responsible for the acts of employees acting within the scope of their duties.
	PART 7
	POST-EMPLOYMENT COMPLIANCE MEASURES
Prohibition	25. A former minister shall not, within three years after leaving office,
	(a) act as adviser, for the commercial purposes of the recipient thereof, concerning the programs or policies of any department of government or agency of Her Majesty in right of Canada with which the former minister had direct and significant dealings within the scope of the former minister's duties during the last two years of service in that office;
	(b) accept employment with a person or entity, or an appointment to the board of directors or equivalent body of an entity with which the former minister had direct and significant dealings within the scope of the former minister's duties during the last two years of service in that office; or
	(c) make representations for or on behalf of any other person or entity to a department of government or agency of Her Majesty in right of Canada with which the former minister had direct and significant dealings within the scope of the former minister's duties during the last two years of service in that office.
Dealings with a former minister	26. (1) A minister who has official dealings with a former minister where the minister knows that the former minister is subject to the measures set out in section 25 shall report the dealings to the Commissioner.
Verification	(2) Forthwith on receiving a report under subsection (1), the Commissioner shall determine whether the former minister is in compliance with the provisions of section 25 and shall communicate the findings in writing to the minister.
Obligation	(3) Where the Commissioner, under subsection (2), indicates to the minister that the former minister is not in compliance with a provision of section 23, the minister shall immediately refrain from official dealings with the former minister.
	PART 8
	COMMISSIONER
	Appointment
Candidates	27. (1) A political party with at least one member serving on the standing committee of the House of Commons that normally considers matters relating to procedure and House affairs may propose a candidate for appointment as Commissioner.
Vote	(2) The committee referred to in subsection (1) shall vote on the candidates, and the person receiving the unanimous vote of the members present shall be recommended for appointment as Commissioner in a report to be sent to the House of Commons and the Governor in Council.
Disposition of report	(3) On any of the first five sitting days following the presentation of the report to the House of Commons, a motion to concur in the report shall be put to the House in accordance with its procedures.
Commission- er	(4) Subject to subsection (5), not later than ten days after the recommendation referred to in subsection (3) is concurred in by the House of Commons, the Governor in Council shall, by order, appoint the person recommended in the report to hold office during good behaviour as Commissioner for the House of Commons, and may be removed for cause by the Governor in Council on address of the House of Commons.
Prohibition	(5) The Governor in Council shall not appoint to the office of the Commissioner a person who has served as a federal or a provincial minister in the five years preceding the date of such appointment.
Rank, powers and duties generally	28. The Commissioner shall rank as and have all the powers of a deputy head of a department, shall engage exclusively in the duties of the office of the Commissioner and shall not hold any other office under Her Majesty or engage in any other employment.
Salary and expenses	29. The Commissioner shall be paid a salary equal to the salary of a judge of the Federal Court, other than the Chief Justice or the Associate Chief Justice of that court, and is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living expenses while absent from the Commissioner's ordinary place of residence in the course of the Commissioner's duties.
Term	30. The Commissioner shall hold office for a term of seven years, the term being renewable once only.
Absence or incapacity	31. (1) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Commissioner, or if the office of the Commissioner is vacant, another person shall be appointed to this position by the Governor in Council, in accordance with the procedure set out in section 27. The term may be renewed once only.
Acting Commission- er	(2) The person second in title in the office of the Commissioner acts as Commissioner until the appointment, by the Governor in Council, of another Commissioner.
Continuance	(3) If no person has been appointed to succeed the Commissioner by the end of a term, the Commissioner shall continue to hold office until re-appointed or until a successor is appointed, whichever first occurs.
Estimates	32. (1) The Commissioner shall annually prepare an estimate of the sums that will be required to be provided by Parliament for the payment of the salaries, allowances and expenses of his office during the next ensuing fiscal year.
Special report	(2) The Commissioner may make a special report to the House of Commons in the event that amounts provided for his office in the estimates submitted to Parliament are, in his opinion, inadequate to enable him to fulfil the responsabilities of his office.
Staff	33. There may be appointed such officers and staff as the Commissioner may require to fulfil the duties required by this Act.
Information kept in confidence	34. The Commissioner, and all persons appointed pursuant to section 33, shall swear an oath or make a solemn declaration to keep confidential any information that comes to their knowledge under this Act.
	Duties
Duties	35. Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the duties of the Commissioner are
	(a) to receive ministers' statements and reports;
	(b) to give directives and provide advice to ministers on the actions that must be taken to ensure fulfilment of the ministers' obligations under this Act;
	(c) to maintain a public register in which the ministers' public statements are kept;
	(d) to make studies and hold inquiries; and
	(e) to monitor the operation of this Act.
	Inquiries
Inquiry at the initiative of the Commission- er	36. (1) In performing the mission set out in this Act, the Commissioner may, on the Commissioner's own motion,
	(a) study any case relating to the duties or obligations of a minister where the Commissioner considers that it is in the public interest to do so; and
	(b) conduct investigations in relation to any case studied by the Commissioner under this Act.
Mandatory investigation	(2) The Commissioner shall investigate where
	(a) a request to conduct an investigation is received from the Governor in Council; or
	(b) a request to conduct an investigation is received from a member and the Commissioner is of the opinion that the request is based on relevent evidence.
Suspension of the investigation	(3) The Commissioner may, as the Commissioner sees fit, suspend any investigation that, taking the circumstances into account, would serve no useful purpose.
Criminal proceedings or investigations	(4) Where the Commissioner determines that the case under investigation is the subject of a police investigation or a criminal prosecution, the Commissioner shall suspend the Commissioner's study or investigation until the matter has been finally dealt with by the police investigation or criminal prosecution.
Criminal proceedings or investigations	(5) Where the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that there has been a contravention of an Act of Parliament other than this Act, the Commissioner shall forthwith refer the matter to the competent authority and shall suspend the Commissioner's study or investigation until the police investigation or proceedings have been finally concluded.
Powers	(6) Subject to any other Act of Parliament that refers expressly to this subsection, the Commissioner may have access at all convenient times to information relating to the discharge of the Commissioner's responsibilities and may ask and receive from any minister or member of the Public Service such information, reports and explanations as the Commissioner considers necessary.
Stationing of officers in departments	(7) For the effective conduct of the Commissioner's mandate, the Commissioner may station any person employed in the office of the Commissioner in any department.
Powers	(8) The Commissioner has all the powers of a commissioner appointed under Part I of the Inquiries Act.
Notice of proposed adverse report	(9) No report concluding that a public office holder has failed without reasonable justification to fulfil a duty or obligation under this Act shall be made until reasonable notice has been given to the minister of the alleged failure and the minister has been allowed full opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel or any other representative.
Certificate	(10) Where the Commissioner concludes after an investigation that, having regard to all the circumstances, the minister has not failed to fulfil a duty or obligation under this Act, the Commissioner shall forthwith prepare a report with reasons to that effect and shall cause a copy to be sent to the minister and the Speaker of the House of Commons who shall table the copy of the report forthwith in the House of Commons or, if that House is not sitting, within the first five days after the report is received by the Speaker.
Report	(11) Where, after considering any matter under this section, the Commissioner concludes that, having regard to all of the circumstances, a minister failed without reasonable justification to fulfil a duty or obligation under this Act, the Commissioner shall so report to the minister and to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the Commissioner may include any of the following recommendations in the report:
	(a) censure;
	(b) suspension of the minister from the House of Commons or the Senate, with or without salary and indemnities, for a fixed period;
	(c) expulsion of the minister from Cabinet; or
	(d) a declaration that the minister's seat in the House of Commons is vacant.
Tabling report	37. (1) The Speaker of the House of Commons shall lay the report before that House within five sitting days upon receiving it.
Recommendat ions of no effect unless approved by House	(2) For greater certainty, the recommendations in the report have no effect unless they are approved by the House of Commons.