I am now ready to rule on the question of privilege raised on October 24 by the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes concerning the approval process for forms relating to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.
In raising his question of privilege, the member alleged that several forms posted on the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner’s website, including those members use to report gifts, benefits and sponsored travel, had been modified without the necessary approval from the House. He pointed out that these documents must be submitted to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and then adopted by the House, in accordance with section 30 of the code.
The member further stated that these unauthorized changes constituted a contempt of the House, and asked that the matter be ruled a prima facie case of privilege and referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
In response, the deputy House leader of the government stated that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is already considering the matter and it would be premature for the Chair to review it until the committee has reported its findings.
It is true that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs plays a key role in issues pertaining to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, which can be found in Appendix I to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons. Standing Order 108(3)(a)(viii) provides that the committee's mandate includes:
the review of and report on all matters relating to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.
In addition, section 30(1) of the code, which the House adopted on June 11, 2007, provides as follows:
The commissioner shall submit any proposed procedural and interpretative guidelines and all forms relating to the code to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for approval.
(2) Any guidelines and forms approved by the committee shall be reported to the House and shall come into effect when the report is concurred in by the House.
(3) Until the guidelines and forms are reported to the House, they shall remain confidential.
In the time since the question of privilege was raised in the House, the commissioner has admitted, in a letter to the Speaker dated October 28, that he made a mistake. The commissioner wrote that he wrongly assumed that the committee’s approval was not needed because the changes were, in his view, minor. He said that the forms in question have since been removed from his website. The commissioner also acknowledged that, under section 30 of Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, all forms and guidelines must be submitted to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for approval before being made public and must remain confidential until they are approved. He further stated that he has subsequently submitted the new documents to the committee for approval.
It is unfortunate that this matter had to be raised in the House, but in light of the explanations provided by the commissioner, there no longer appears to be any doubt about the meaning of section 30 of the code or the need for the commissioner to have any changes to the forms approved by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and by the House itself.
Furthermore, as noted earlier, the Standing Orders already mandate the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to consider issues relating to the code. The Chair is convinced that the committee will follow up on this matter as it sees fit, as evidenced by the meeting it held with the commissioner about the forms on October 30.
Taking into account the explanations and apology the commissioner has offered and the committee’s ongoing study of matters pertaining to the code, the Chair, given the circumstances, considers the matter closed.
I thank all members for their attention.