Evidence of meeting #14 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was budget.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
Our advisers are probably our largest group, and their salary range is from $64,000 to $79,000.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
And the value of the benefits, what would the average of that be?
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
It's usually 17% of the salary expenditure.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
I'm referring to your report where you mention that you provide ongoing confidential advice to 308 members of Parliament and 1,000 reported public office holders. That's 1,300 people. Who are the others?
Commissioner, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
Actually, there are two types of public office holders: the plain old public office holders and the reporting public office holders. The reporting public office holders are full-time. Generally speaking, the distinction is full-time or part-time, and the full-times have the reporting obligations. The public office holders have to comply with the general values rules. Most of our time is spent on reporting public office holders. So that's the difference.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
So in respect of the reporting public office holders, you have approximately 28 people you're responsible for per staff member. I'm just trying to get a handle on what these people do.
Legal services are close to my heart, as I was formerly a member of the legal profession in private practice. Are the four people in legal services all lawyers?
Commissioner, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
One is a support staff, and there's one paralegal.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
You have three lawyers in your legal department, and on your budget you have a line item for professional services of $1.5 million. Is that lawyers' time, or is that outside legal services or other services?
Commissioner, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
That's other things. What are they, Denise?
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
A big chunk of it is a memorandum of understanding for corporate services, and the other types that we have are often HR related. So it's our communications that we go out for, not lawyers.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
Communications consultants and that sort of thing.
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
Exactly.
Conservative
Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON
I have one other question related to the questions that Mr. Saxton was mentioning earlier. You mentioned that the Senate code has some items adopted from the House of Commons code. I wonder if the House of Commons code has taken anything from the Senate code?
Commissioner, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
I don't know how they originated, but they're closer together than they were, with the last Senate amendments. There are codes out there in the general world, and I'm sure that they both looked at them too. I don't know, because you do these things in camera.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Mr. Lessard had a follow-up question, and I think Mr. Wrzesnewskyj also did, and then there's a vote.
Mr. Lessard.
Do you have a question, Mr. Lessard?
Bloc
Yves Lessard Bloc Chambly—Borduas, QC
I understand that you award professional contract services to outsiders. Have I understood correctly?
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
One of the largest contracts granted this year was to examine all the job descriptions and the organizational structure. This contract was related to human resources. There were also contracts regarding communications. We had to use the services of an outside lawyer, with regard to the legal proceedings by Democracy Watch.
Bloc
Yves Lessard Bloc Chambly—Borduas, QC
I understand that these external services are included in the "Professional and Special Services" item, for which there is a $1.5 million envelope. What proportion of that amount do outside contracts that you award represent?
Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
There is generally a $1.5 million budget for this item. After deducting the $700,000 for corporate services from that amount, we are talking about very small contracts. There is even a commissionaire contract. If we put all these contracts together they represent no more than $200,000.