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Bill C-25

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	PART 7
	POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
	Interpretation
Definitions	111. (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.
``election'' « élection »	``election'' means a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal election.
``federal election'' « élection fédérale »	``federal election'' means an election to the House of Commons.
``municipal election'' « élection municipale »	``municipal election'' means an election as the mayor or a member of the council of a municipality.
``municipality '' « municipalité »	``municipality'' means
	(a) an incorporated or unincorporated regional municipality, city, town, village, rural municipality, township, county, district or other municipality, however designated; or
	(b) any other local or regional authority that is determined by the Governor in Council to be a municipality for the purposes of this Part.
``political activity'' « activité politique »	``political activity'' means
	(a) carrying on any activity in support of, within or in opposition to a political party;
	(b) carrying on any activity in support of or in opposition to a candidate in an election; or
	(c) seeking nomination as or being a candidate in an election.
``provincial election'' « élection provinciale »	``provincial election'' means an election to the legislature of a province.
``territorial election'' « élection territoriale »	``territorial election'' means an election to the Council of the Yukon or the Northwest Territories or the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Meaning of ``deputy head''	(2) For the purposes of this Part, ``deputy head'' includes a Commissioner appointed under subsection 4(1) and the Chairperson of the Tribunal designated under subsection 88(5).
	Purpose of Part
Purpose	112. The purpose of this Part is to recognize the right of employees to engage in political activities while maintaining the principle of political impartiality in the public service.
	Employees
Permitted activities	113. (1) An employee may engage in any political activity so long as it does not impair, or is not perceived as impairing, the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Regulations	(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Commission, make regulations specifying political activities that are deemed to impair the ability of an employee, or any class of employees, to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(3) In making regulations, the Governor in Council may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the political activity and the nature of the duties of an employee or class of employees and the level and visibility of their positions.
Candidacy in federal, provincial or territorial elections	114. (1) An employee may seek nomination as or be a candidate in a federal, provincial or territorial election only if the employee has requested and obtained a leave of absence without pay from the Commission.
Granting of leave	(2) The Commission may grant the leave of absence only if it is satisfied that seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate in the election will not impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(3) In deciding whether seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate would impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner, the Commission may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the election, the nature of the employee's duties and the level and visibility of the employee's position.
Effect of election	(4) An employee ceases to be an employee on the day he or she is declared elected in a federal, provincial or territorial election.
Candidacy in municipal elections	115. (1) An employee may seek nomination as, or be, a candidate in a municipal election only if the employee has requested and obtained permission from the Commission to do so.
Granting of permission	(2) The Commission may grant permission only if it is satisfied that seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate in the election will not impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(3) In deciding whether seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate will impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner, the Commission may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the election, the nature of the employee's duties and the level and visibility of the employee's position.
Conditions	(4) The Commission may make permission under this section conditional on
	(a) the employee taking a leave of absence without pay during the period in which he or she seeks nomination as a candidate or is a candidate; and
	(b) the employee taking a leave of absence without pay or ceasing to be an employee if he or she is declared elected.
Notice	116. On granting an employee a leave of absence referred to in section 114 or permission under section 115, the Commission shall cause notice that it has done so, together with the name of that employee, to be published in the Canada Gazette.
	Deputy Heads
Political activities	117. A deputy head shall not engage in any political activity other than voting in an election.
	Allegations
Investigation and corrective action - employees	118. The Commission may investigate any allegation, made to it by a person who is or has been a candidate in an election, that an employee has failed to comply with subsection 113(1), 114(1) or 115(1) and, if it concludes that the allegation is substantiated, may dismiss the employee or may take any corrective action that it considers appropriate.
Investigation and dismissal - deputy head	119. (1) The Commission may investigate any allegation, made to it by a person who is or has been a candidate in an election, that a deputy head has contravened section 117 and, if it concludes that the allegation is substantiated, the Commission shall report its conclusion to the Governor in Council and the Governor in Council may dismiss the deputy head.
Exception	(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of any deputy head whose removal from office is expressly provided for by this or any other Act, otherwise than by termination of his or her appointment at pleasure.
Powers under Inquiries Act	120. In conducting any investigation under this Part, the Commission has all the powers of a commissioner under Part II of the Inquiries Act.
Persons acting for Commission	121. (1) The Commission may direct that any investigation under this Part be conducted, in whole or in part, by one or more Commissioners or other persons.
Powers of Commissioner	(2) A Commissioner directed under subsection (1) has the powers referred to in section 120 in relation to the matter before the Commissioner.
Powers of other person	(3) Subject to any limitations specified by the Commission, a person directed under subsection (1), other than a Commissioner, has the powers referred to in section 120 in relation to the matter before the person.
Right to be heard	122. A person making an allegation under section 118 or 119 and the employee or deputy head against whom it is made - or their representatives - are entitled to be heard by the Commission, Commissioner or other person, whichever is conducting the investigation.
	PART 8
	GENERAL
	Application of Act
Regulations of Governor in Council	123. (1) The Governor in Council may, notwithstanding any other Act, make regulations applying to any organization or any part of any organization all or any of the provisions of this Act that do not otherwise apply to it.
Application of other Acts	(2) A regulation made under subsection (1) prevails over the provisions of any other Act or regulations made under any other Act respecting the same matter.
Application of regulations	124. A regulation made by the Commission, the Treasury Board or the Governor in Council under this Act may be of general application or may apply to a specified person, position, occupational group, organization or part of an organization, or any class of them, or in respect of a specified process or any class of process.
	Head of Public Service
Appointment by Governor in Council	125. The Governor in Council may appoint and fix the remuneration of the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.
Clerk of Privy Council	126. The Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet is the head of the public service.
Report of head of the public service	127. The head of the public service shall submit a report on the state of the public service in each fiscal year to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the Prime Minister receives it.
	Ministerial Staff
Ministerial staff	128. (1) A minister, or a person holding the recognized position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons or Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, may appoint an executive assistant and other persons required in his or her office.
Termination of employment	(2) A person who is employed in an office referred to in subsection (1) ceases to be so employed thirty days after the person holding a position referred to in subsection (1) ceases to hold that position.
Regulations	129. The Governor in Council may make regulations applying all or any of the provisions of this Act to any of the positions of persons appointed by ministers under subsection 128(1).
	Public Officials
Appointments by Governor in Council	130. The Governor in Council may appoint and fix the remuneration of
	(a) the Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations;
	(b) the Clerk of the Senate;
	(c) the Clerk of the House of Commons; and
	(d) the Secretary to the Governor General.
	Diplomatic Personnel
Diplomatic appointments	131. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the right or authority of Her Majesty to appoint ambassadors, ministers, high commissioners or consuls-general of Canada to another country or to appoint other persons to represent Canada in another country.
	Block Transfers
Transfer of employees	132. (1) Nothing in an order made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act shall be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of the order, occupied a position in a portion of the core public administration the control or supervision of which has been transferred from one department or other portion of the core public administration to another, or in a department that has been amalgamated and combined, except that the employee shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy that position in the department or other portion of the core public administration to which the control or supervision has been transferred or in the department as amalgamated and combined.
Transfer of other staff	(2) Where an order is made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act, the Governor in Council may, by order made on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and where the Governor in Council is of the opinion that an employee or class of employees is carrying out powers, duties or functions that are in whole or in part in support of or related to the powers, duties and functions of employees referred to in subsection (1) and that it is in the best interests of the core public administration to do so, declare that the employee or class of employees shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy their positions in the department or other portion of the core public administration where the employees referred to in subsection (1) are currently occupying their positions.
Core public administration	(3) For the purposes of this section, the core public administration consists of the departments, as defined in subsection 2(1), and the portions of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV to the Financial Administration Act.