Information & Ethics Committee on Sept. 24th, 2025

[Ian Greene]

I believe it's Tanzania that requires all political parties to have their own codes of conduct, and they have to be approved by an ethics commissioner, I believe. I think that would be a way forward.

The royal commission on electoral reform, back in 1991, recommended that every political party in Canada develop its own code of conduct. Very few have. The Quebec Liberal Party is one of the few, and they did it only because they were trying to recover from scandals.

You can't have everything controlled by the Ethics Commissioner: The parties themselves have to buy into ethics principles. They need to develop their own codes of conduct.

The process of developing a code of conduct is very educational. I think a requirement for all parties to have their own codes of conduct that would be approved by the Ethics Commissioner so that they're serious and enforceable would be a step forward.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you very much for being here. We appreciate your sharing your knowledge with us.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Ms. Lapointe.

That concludes our testimony from our witness today.

Mr. Greene, I want to thank you, sir, for preparing for this meeting. It was a very rapid response to the invitation from the clerk. I know we sent out numerous invitations, and there were many people who said they needed more time to prepare. Obviously, you've done this, and I really appreciate that you've taken the time to be with the committee today. Thank you, sir.

[Ian Greene]

You're very welcome, and thank you for inviting me.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

I don't have any other business, so I adjourn the meeting.