SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE TABLES REPORT ON CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT
Ottawa, March 20, 1997.... Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C., and Peter Milliken, M.P. for Kingston and the Islands, the Co-chairs of the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct, today tabled the Committee's report in the Senate and the House of Commons. The Report proposes a Code of Official Conduct for all Parliamentarians that would come into effect at the beginning of the next Parliament. "We feel very positive about our proposed Code," said Mr. Milliken. "We thoroughly canvassed the existing systems in Canada and in the United Kingdom, and are convinced that our Code adopts the best features of the various models. We are confident that the new rules will introduce greater clarity for Parliamentarians on the essential standards in public life and provide a transparent system by which Canadians may be assured that the public interest is well-protected." The Code, if adopted, would apply to all Parliamentarians, although the Prime Minister could impose additional rules for Ministers, Secretaries of State and Parliamentary Secretaries. The Code begins by stating its purposes: to recognize that service in Parliament is a public trust, to maintain public confidence, to reassure the public that high standards prevail, to provide guidance for Parliamentarians, and to foster consensus among Parliamentarians as to proper conduct. Four essential principles follow, all of which emphasize the public trust and the importance of avoiding conflicts between public duties and private interests. The heart of the Code, according the Co-chairs of the Committee, is the disclosure regime. "This is the main mechanism by which the public can actually see that the purposes and principles of the Code are being realized," said Mr. Milliken. "We have proposed a system of confidential disclosure to a person who will be appointed for this purpose, whom we have called the Jurisconsult. This individual will then prepare a public disclosure statement, applying the guidelines in the Code." Certain matters will not be required to be publicly disclosed such as personal items such as the family home and car, assets that clearly present little potential for conflict of interest and other inconsequential matters. "We are convinced that we have struck the appropriate balance between the public's need to know, and Parliamentarians' legitimate interests in personal privacy," said Mr. Milliken. The Jurisconsult, who would be under the general direction of a new Joint Standing Committee of the Senate and the House, would be able to receive complaints from the public regarding Parliamentarians' conduct. Contact: Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C.....943-1445 |