The Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons both prohibit you from participating in a discussion, decision, debate or vote in which you have a conflict of interest.
However, they have different requirements regarding abstentions and recusals.
Educational sessions offered by the Commissioner’s Office can help you understand these rules, as can the mandatory training on the Code that all Members must complete within 120 days after their election is confirmed. Your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office can also help. Please call 613-995-0721 or send us an email.
Under section 21 of the Conflict of Interest Act, you must recuse yourself (step away from) from any discussion, decision, debate or vote on any matter in which you have a conflict of interest.
Recusal means having nothing to do with the matter. You must leave the room (physical or virtual), because your mere presence could influence another participant, and refrain from having any further involvement in the matter.
If you recuse yourself to avoid a conflict of interest, you must tell the Commissioner’s Office about the recusal as soon as possible. Except in limited circumstances, you must publicly declare the recusal within 60 days. Your public declaration must identify the conflict of interest that you avoided. The Commissioner’s Office will post it in the public registry.
If it is very likely that you could be involved in discussions or decision-making processes where you have a conflict of interest, a conflict of interest screen is recommended. It can prevent situations where you would need to recuse to avoid a conflict of interest, by ensuring that you are not involved in those discussions or decision-making processes. Your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office can help you set up a screen.
As a minister or parliamentary secretary, you may abstain instead of recusing from debates or votes in the House of Commons or at committee on matters that would put you in a conflict of interest. This means you do not have to leave the chamber or committee room while the debates or votes are taking place, but you must disclose your private interest if you remain in the room.
Under section 13 of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, you are not allowed to participate in debates on, or vote on, questions in which you have a private interest.
You must abstain from such debates or votes. This means you do not have to leave the House of Commons chamber or committee room while the debates or votes are taking place, though you cannot participate.
Section 12 explains what you must do if you have a private interest that could be affected by a matter that comes before the House of Commons or a committee you are part of. If present when the matter is being discussed, you must disclose the general nature of your private interest. You must do that as soon as possible, either orally or in writing. You must also disclose it, in writing, to the Clerk of the House right away.
If you later become aware of a private interest that you should have disclosed, you must do so right away.
The Clerk of the House will have the disclosure recorded in the Journals and send it to the Commissioner. The Commissioner will post it in the public registry.
If you have a private interest that could be affected by your parliamentary work in other situations, you must inform the party concerned about the general nature of the interest as soon as possible, either orally or in writing. You must also send a written notice about it to the Commissioner, who will post it in the public registry.