Keywords Politics

Otherwise, guidelines on conflict of interest, like those originally issued by the federal government for civil servants (1973) and Cabinet ministers (1979), have apparently been preferred by public officials. Continued evidence of this preference is seen in the Mulroney government's federal guidelines for ministers and other public office holders issued in 1985, and the Chrétien government's Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders (1994). As a rule, guidelines are more ambiguous than statutes. Further, critics argue that guidelines generally do not provide sufficient sanctions to deter potential conflicts, or appropriate mechanisms to determine the existence of violations. When charges of conflict of interest fail to provoke disciplinary actions, however, they may cause such acute political embarrassment that a Cabinet minister may feel it necessary to resign to protect the government's integrity, which, although rare, happened in Ontario in 1972. Most provinces now have codes, guidelines, rules or directives which apply variously to elected legislators, appointed public servants or even to civic officials.

Whether in statute, guideline or code form, conflict of interest documents require that those covered, be they politicians or public servants or both, shall avoid behaviour which places their private interest ahead of the public interest. Typically, this may mean that they may be required to remove themselves from decisions where they have a financial interest, to avoid giving preferential treatment, to not use insider information or government property for personal benefit, to refuse gifts or other benefits of more than nominal value, or to avoid employment after leaving public office that takes improper advantage of their previous position.

There have been several notable cases relating to conflict of interest. A federal inquiry was begun in July 1986 to examine allegations of conflict of interest regarding the business dealings of a federal Cabinet minister, Sinclair STEVENS. The inquiry was to cost more than $2.9 million, and the Mulroney government's popularity declined as a result, in part, of the negative publicity generated by the affair. In December 1987 the report concluded that Stevens had broken the conflict of interest guideline 14 times. Added to this political embarrassment was another Cabinet resignation, this time junior transport minister André Bissonnette, who was accused of improper land deals relating to a government defence contract with Swiss-based Oerlikon Aerospace Inc. As well, British Columbia's former premier William VANDER ZALM was the subject of the Hughes Inquiry (1991), which argued that ethical questions were raised in certain business dealings.

In addition to temporary inquiries, some governments have created offices to deal with conflict of interest matters on a regular basis. For example, the federal government's Office of the Ethics Counsellor (formerly the Assistant Deputy Registrar General) administers its conflict of interest code and post-employment code. BC, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have commissioners on conflict of interest; and Alberta has an ethics commissioner for ministers and legislators. Newfoundland has a conflict of interest tribunal for public servants.

Author KENNETH GIBBONS

Suggested Reading
Canada, Members of Parliament and Conflict of Interest (1973); Canada, Conflict of Interest in Canada, 1992: A Federal Provincial and Territorial Perspective (1992); Canada, Office of the Ethics Counsellor, Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders (1994).

Links to Other Sites
The Hill Times
The website for the Canadian newsweekly "The Hill Times." Features news and opinion about Canadian federal politics.

System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders
SEDI is the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders, established by the applicable securities regulatory authorities. SEDI facilitates the filing and public dissemination of "insider reports" in electronic format via the Internet and this website.

Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
The website for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (Parliament of Canada.)

Federal sponsorship scandal
This CBC feature offers an overview of the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities.

Mulroney-Schreiber affair
A CBC News feature about investigations regarding the financial relationship between former prime minister Brian Mulroney and German-born lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber.