Thank you.
Clause 6 reads as follows:
(1) Every agent of Parliament who intends to occupy a politically partisan position while holding his or her position as an agent of Parliament must make a written declaration of their intention to do so as soon as possible and before starting in the politically partisan position. The declaration must indicate the nature of the position, as well as the period of time during which the agent intends to occupy it. (2) The declarations referred to in subsection (1) must be posted on the website of the office of the agent of Parliament within 30 days after the date of each declaration.
The fact that agents of Parliament would have to make a written declaration is a real concern.
Here I would like to share the comments that Michael Ferguson made because they very clearly explain the reason why we are opposed to this clause.
I apologize, but I only have the English version.
Section 6 of the bill requires an agent of Parliament who intends to occupy a politically partisan position while still holding his or her position as an agent of Parliament to make a written declaration of intent as soon as possible, before occupying the political position. Currently, under section 117 of the Public Service Employment Act, I am not permitted to engage in any political activity other than voting in an election.
This provision is extremely redundant.
The situation described in section 6 could never occur, and I would not like people to get the impression by reading the bill that it could.
I'm equally concerned with clause 6, which I think implies that as an agent of Parliament I could undertake some sort of partisan activity while occupying this position, whereas currently, under section 117 of the Public Service Employment Act, I already cannot do that. That causes some confusion. Overall within the bill there are many of those types of things that would need to be improved for it to achieve its objectives.
For example, section 6 under the current legislation is quite clear that the only thing I can do from a political point of view is to vote. That's the only right I have. Clause 6 seems to imply I can consider some partisan activity even while I'm an agent of Parliament.
I know that we have indeed adopted the Conservatives' amendment, which implies that this does not encourage agents of Parliament to occupy partisan positions or to want to occupy such positions. However, section 117 of the Public Service Employment Act clearly provides that that is not possible for them. I therefore do not understand the intent or necessity of this clause. It is redundant, and it provides for something that does not even correspond to reality.
The Auditor General said in his testimony that he could not occupy a political position. It is good that that is the case because we do not want agents of Parliament to be able to occupy such positions. I do not think they intend to run in the next election or to be president of an electoral district association. Then why propose this provision, which is completely redundant and implies something that does not at all correspond with reality under the Public Service Employment Act?
We are therefore entirely opposed to this clause because it is redundant and illogical.