Thank you very much, Madame Chairperson.
I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for inviting me to discuss the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.
Given the virtual meeting considerations, I'll focus on helping you better understand the fundamental tenets of the code and how it functions.
I've been the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner for nearly four years now, as part of a seven‑year term under the Parliament of Canada Act. As an officer of the House of Commons, I'm solely responsible to Parliament and not to the federal government or an individual minister.
I believe that the Office of the Commissioner can play a major role in helping improve the confidence of Canadians in their elected officials and public sector leaders. At the Office of the Commissioner, we have three tasks. We provide advice and direction; we investigate when needed; and we help educate through a variety of private and public forums.
The code was adopted in 2004 and was last modified in 2015, within the cadre of the exhaustive review provided for in section 33 of the code.
My primary role, and that of the office, is to provide members of Parliament with the assistance needed to understand and follow the code on an ongoing basis. It is their responsibility to follow the code. It is our role to assist them in making sure that they do follow the code.
At times, the assistance provided is more rules-based, as is the case now with the initial compliance process. We are busy working with each of the 338 MPs to complete the initial compliance process. This process is outlined in the code at sections 20 and 21 and commences when each MP's election is published in the Canada Gazette.
We also undertake broader educational programs, as per section 32 of the code. There is an obligation in the code for me to make sure that we provide educational services both to MPs and to the public. We try to create an internal jurisprudence, if you wish, which we share during those educational sessions and in providing advice to individual members and members of their staff as well.
As set out in the preamble, the code's purpose—because it's important to always remember the purpose of the code, which is that it's not an end in itself—is to “maintain and enhance public confidence”, to “demonstrate to the public” that the standards the MPs are held to are being applied and to make sure that you get the assistance you need to “reconcile”—that's the crux—your private interests with your public duties.
I strongly believe that Canadians should receive as much information as possible to ensure that elected and appointed officials are held accountable. That's why we have the public registry maintained by the office. Once your disclosure statement for section 23 has been prepared, your information will be listed in the registry. Any Canadian, at any time, 24-7, will be able to go and look for each particular MP—their own MP or any MP—to determine the state of their assets, liabilities, outside activities and so on.
Nevertheless, my overall assessment after four years of working with the code is that the code is working. The code is not broken. There are situations where some people, including our office, would wish the code would say something different, but they are very few and far apart.
We are here to basically assist the committee to see how we can contribute to the comprehensive review, if the committee decides to conduct a comprehensive review, and also to answer any questions you may have. It's important that we work together. My role is to assist you, the House of Commons and every MP. It's important that we ensure that the manner in which we carry out our duties is in line with the needs of the MPs.
My objective here is to not to give you an exhaustive list of members' obligations and the Office of the Commissioner's functions, but to allow us time for a fruitful dialogue.
I would be pleased to answer the committee members' questions about the code and the administration of my office.
Thank you.