Rules for Members of the House of Commons

To achieve compliance with the initial disclosure requirements of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, you must complete an initial compliance process that begins soon after notice of your election or re-election is published in the Canada Gazette. Your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office will walk you through it.

If you are a minister or parliamentary secretary, you must also follow a similar process under the Conflict of Interest Act.

Step 1

You must fill out a confidential Disclosure Statement with detailed information on assets, liabilities, outside activities and other interests for yourself and your family members.

You must submit it with supporting documents, such as financial statements, to the Commissioner’s Office no later than 60 days after notice of your election is published in the Canada Gazette.

Step 2

Your advisor reviews the information in your Disclosure Statement and advises you on achieving and maintaining compliance with the Code. They might ask for further information to clarify or confirm the information provided, and may recommend specific compliance measures to prevent conflicts of interest.

Step 3

Once they have received all the required information, your advisor prepares a Disclosure Summary (a summary of the information in your Disclosure Statement).

You have 60 days to review and approve your Disclosure Summary (through the disclosure portal or by signing a paper copy) and give it back to the Commissioner’s Office.

Step 4

When the Commissioner’s Office receives your approved disclosure summary, it posts it in the public registry, and the initial compliance process is over. This means you have met your initial reporting obligations under the Code.

The Commissioner’s Office publishes a Members' Compliance Status Report that identifies where each Member is in the initial compliance process on a specific day. It is updated every month.

Members face a number of ongoing reporting requirements under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons throughout their terms of office.

While you’re in office, you must tell the Commissioner’s Office about:

Material changes: You must tell the Office about any material change, within 60 days. A material change is a change to any of the information in the Disclosure Statement that you filled out during the initial compliance process. Examples:

• A change in marital status
• A new source of income greater than $1,000
• Buying or selling an asset (property or investment) worth $10,000 or more
• Taking on or paying off a debt of $10,000 or more
• If the value of an asset or a liability goes above or below $10,000

Please contact your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office to file your Notice of Material Change (PDF). They will advise you if the change requires a public declaration.

Gifts or other benefits: You must publicly declare any acceptable gifts or other benefits worth $200 or more that you or a family member accepts, within 60 days. You must publicly declare multiple gifts received from one source in a 12-month period with a total value of $200 or more, within 60 days after the value reaches $200 or more.

Sponsored travel: You must publicly declare any sponsored travel you accept, within 60 days after the end of the sponsored trip.

Abstentions: You must not participate in debate or vote on any matters in which you have a private interest. In these cases, you must notify the Clerk of the House of Commons. You also need to recuse yourself from any matter that comes up in the course of your parliamentary duties in which you have a private interest. In these cases, you must notify the Commissioner’s Office.

Every year, you must file a new Disclosure Statement with the Commissioner’s Office.

The Office will contact you to launch the review process. The Code gives you 60 days to file the new Disclosure Statement.