moved for leave to introduce Bill C-388, an act to regulate conflict of interest situations for ministers and to provide for a code of ethics for ministers.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to regulate the conduct of ministers with respect to conflicts of interest during the exercise of their duties and post-employment.
It provides for the introduction of a code of ethics, primarily based on the conflict of interest and post-employment code for public office holders and the code of conduct for members of parliament of the United Kingdom, which would henceforth be part of Canadian legislation. Any breach could then be the subject of penalties.
It also provides for the creation of the position of ethics commissioner, who would report directly to the House of Commons and who would have the authority to conduct investigations with respect to the application of the code of ethics and the provisions of this bill. Moreover, this is a measure which the Liberal Party of Canada promised to implement in 1993.
Given the troubling events brought to our attention in the murky Grand-Mère affair, in which the Prime Minister would appear to have placed himself in a conflict of interest situation by contacting the president of the Business Development Bank regarding a loan for the Auberge Grand-Mère, which adjoined the golf course in which he had apparently previously owned shares, it appeared important to tighten up the legislative and regulatory framework guaranteeing the integrity which the public is entitled to expect from federal cabinet members.
This is what we must do if we are to restore our fellow citizens' high level of trust in their political institutions.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)