Rules for ministers and parliamentary secretaries

Your advisor in the Commissioner’s Office will walk you through the initial compliance process​ under the Conflict of Interest Act. It starts when you are appointed as a minister or parliamentary secretary.

Step 1

You must give the Commissioner’s Office detailed personal and financial information about you and your family members. You have 60 days to fill out and submit a Confidential Report listing:

• Your assets (things you own) and liabilities (debts you owe)
• The source and amount of all income that you received in the 12 months before your appointment or that you will receive in the next 12 months
• Your past or ongoing activities in the two years before your appointment, like jobs, and business or commercial activities
• Any benefits from a contract or subcontract with the Government of Canada that you, your family, or any private corporation you or your family have a stake in received in the last 12 months or might receive in the next 12 months

The Commissioner’s Office keeps most of this information private but makes some of it public (see Step 3 for details).

Step 2

Your advisor reviews your information and helps you determine what measures, if any, are required to avoid conflicts of interest. These measures could include:

• withdrawing from prohibited activities
• divesting any controlled assets
• setting up any required conflict of interest screens
• preparing any necessary public declarations

The Commissioner might ask to meet with you and your family members to make sure you have shared all the necessary information, and to discuss in more detail your obligations under the Act.

Step 3

Your advisor prepares a Summary Statement (a summary of information in your Confidential Report). It lists:

• “controlled assets” that you have divested
• any matters the Commissioner has ordered you to recuse yourself from, and information about the process you or others have put in place to implement the recusal

It does not list “exempt” assets like open-ended mutual funds or primary and secondary residences and cars that are for your private, non-commercial use.

Other required public declarations include:

• any property you own that is not for your personal use and for which you receive payment
• any interest in a private corporation (even if the corporation is inactive)
• money owed to you under a mortgage or hypothec greater than $10,000
• any outside activities (activities that are not part of your official duties) that the Commissioner has reviewed and is letting you continue

You have 120 days after your appointment to review and approve your Summary Statement and any other public declarations (by approving them in the disclosure portal or signing paper copies) and give them back to the Commissioner’s Office.

Step 4

When the Commissioner’s Office receives all your approved declarations, it posts them in the public registry, and the initial compliance process is over.

This shows you have met your initial reporting obligations under the Act.

To achieve compliance with the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, you must complete an initial compliance process that begins soon after you are elected or re-elected. 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 the Commissioner’s Office has 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.

You must meet ongoing reporting requirements during your whole time in public office.

If you miss reporting deadlines, or do not submit accurate and complete reports, you risk an administrative monetary penalty.

Material changes​: You must tell the Office about any material change, within 30 days. A material change is a change to any of the information in the Confidential Report that you filled out during the initial compliance process. Examples:

• A change in marital status
• A new source of income
• Buying or selling an asset (property or investment)
• Taking on or paying off a debt
• A new volunteer activity

Gifts or other advantages: You must publicly declare any acceptable gifts or other advantages that you or your family members accept from any one source in a 12-month period with a total value of over $200. You must do that within 30 days after the day on which the value exceeds $200.

Travel: As a minister or parliamentary secretary, you must publicly declare any travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft accepted for yourself, your family, or ministerial staff or advisers. You must do that within 30 days.

Recusals: If you have recused 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 also publicly declare it within 60 days.

Firm offers of outside employment: You must tell the Commissioner’s Office about all firm offers of outside employment, within 7 days after receiving them.

Acceptance of offers of outside employment: You must tell the Commissioner’s Office about any offer of outside employment you have accepted, within 7 days. If you are a minister, you must also tell the Prime Minister. If you’re a parliamentary secretary, you must also tell the minister you assist.

You must meet ongoing reporting requirements during your whole time in elected office.

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

Please contact your advisor 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 advantages 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 trip.

Abstentions: You must abstain from debating or voting on any matters in which you have a private interest, and notify the Clerk of the House of Commons of the conflict. You also need to abstain 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 under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. It will also be used to review your disclosures under the Conflict of Interest Act.

The Commissioner’s Office will contact you to launch the review process under both sets of rules.

There is no deadline in the Act for completing your annual review, but you have 60 days to complete your annual review under the Code.