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Rules for ministers and parliamentary secretaries

Overview

If you are a minister or parliamentary secretary, you must follow both sets of rules that the Commissioner’s Office administers:

  • Conflict of Interest Act, and
  • Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.

As a Member, you must complete mandatory training on the Code within 120 days after your election or re-election is confirmed.

As a minister or parliamentary secretary, you are subject to the Act as a reporting public office holder. This means you must not only follow its general conflict of interest and post-employment rules, but are also subject to its:

  • Reporting and public disclosure requirements
  • Restrictions on activities outside of your job as a minister or parliamentary secretary, and
  • Prohibition on holding some kinds of assets (called “controlled” assets).

Plus, the Act has some extra rules for ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The Commissioner’s Office will work closely with you during your time in public office. It assigns each Member, minister and parliamentary secretary an advisor. You can ask your advisor for advice at any time.

Educational sessions offered by the Commissioner’s Office can help you understand how to follow the rules and prevent conflicts of interest. So can the mandatory training on the Code. Your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office can also help. Please call 613-995-0721 or send an email.

General rules under the Act

You have a general duty under the Conflict of Interest Act to arrange your private affairs to prevent conflicts of interest.

While doing your job, you are not allowed to:

  • Make or participate in decisions that could put you in a conflict of interest.
  • Give preferential (special) treatment to someone because of the person or organization representing them.
  • Use insider information (information that is not available to the public) to further private interests.
  • Use your position to try to influence a decision to further private interests.
  • Let offers of outside employment affect how you do your work.
  • Accept gifts or other benefits that might reasonably be seen as an attempt to influence you (if it could look like the donor wanted to affect how you do your job). Your family members may not accept these either.
  • Hire or give contracts to your spouse, common-law partner, child, sibling or parent, or let your organization do so.
  • Personally solicit donations if it puts you in a conflict of interest.
  • Do anything to try to get around the Act’s rules.

Educational sessions offered by the Commissioner’s Office can help you understand these rules. So can your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office. Please call 613-995-0721 or send an email.

General rules under the Code

Under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, while doing your job as an MP, you are not allowed to act in any way to:

  • Further your private interests
  • Further the private interests of a member of your family, or
  • Improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests.

This includes furthering your private interests or those of a family member, or improperly furthering another person’s or entity’s private interests by:

  • Using your position to influence someone else’s decision
  • Using insider information (information you got while in office and that is not available to the public), and
  • Communicating insider information.

You’re also not allowed to try to do any of these things.

The mandatory training on the Code that all Members must complete within 120 days after their election is confirmed can help you understand these rules. So can your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office. Please call 613-995-0721 or send an email.