We administer the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. The commissioner's office helps members and public office holders—i.e., people appointed to their positions by the Governor in Council—to prevent and manage conflicts of interest. On occasion, when necessary, we also investigate.
Michael Barrett, Member of Parliament for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, asked me to investigate two members of SDTC's board of directors. One was Annette Verschuren, former chairperson of SDTC. The other was Guy Ouimet, a former director of SDTC. The SDTC board had 15 members. Of those, Ms. Verschuren and Mr. Ouimet were among seven directors who were appointed by the Governor in Council.
As order in council appointments, they were subject to the act as public office holders. Unlike reporting public office holders, this category of people subject to the act do not have to give the commissioner's office any personal and financial information on appointment, nor do they have to make any declarations. We do not assign advisers to them, but we are available should they have problems and want to contact us.
The other eight members of the board were appointed by SDTC's member council, so they were not covered by this act.
I reported on the Verschuren and Ouimet investigations in July 2024.
I found that Ms. Verschuren failed to comply with the act's provisions on decision-making and recusal. Those lapses were based on a misunderstanding of the difference between abstaining and recusing, and on incorrect legal advice.
It was clear there was an information gap about recusals. The office has therefore since addressed this gap by issuing an information notice, which can be found on our website.
In short, recusal is more than staying silent during a discussion or refraining from voting. Public office holders must leave the room, virtually or physically, so that their mere presence cannot influence other parties.
Unlike the Auditor General, the Commissioner's office does not look at any conduct other than conflicts of interest. In the case of SDTC, our scope is limited to the rules of the Conflict of Interest Act insofar as they apply to individuals appointed to their position by the Governor in Council.
I therefore have absolutely no comment to make on the alleged conflict of interest of individuals not appointed by the Governor in Council or on any other issues of alleged malfeasance mentioned by the Auditor General. That's not part of my remit.
I'm happy to answer your questions.