Making accountability work: some are more accountable than others…? During the last federal election campaign, the Conservative Party pledged to pass a “Federal Accountability Act” with more than 50 measures, aimed at closing loopholes in laws, regulations and codes, and strengthening enforcement dealing with everything from ethics and lobbying to access to information and conflict of interest.

The Federal Accountability Act is still a conservative party election pledge, which has not yet been drafted as a bill and it must be passed into law into be enforceable. However at this point in time, already many exceptions have been made and definitions left open to the discretion of the Prime Minister. For instance, the promise was made to ban all ministerial staff from becoming lobbyists for five years after they leave office.

However, it now applies only to “designated” staff although there are ‘no effective measures requiring ministers to designate staff and …( )…part-time and non-remunerated ministerial staff are not covered by the ban, whether or not they are designated by the minister, because they are not covered by Part III of the Code.’ 2 ‘In fact, while the new code does fulfill the Conservatives’ election pledge to ban ministers and a defined list of senior public servants from becoming lobbyists for five years after they leave government, the code breaks the Conservatives’ pledge to extend the ban to all ministerial staffers.

Under the new code, the five-year ban only applies to ministerial staffers who are put on a list by their minister, and there is no requirement for ministers to put any staffers on the list.

Further, “the new code actually increases the number of part-time ministerial staffers who are not covered by most of the code’s rules nor the five-year ban” www.democracywatch.ca In the area of conflict of interest, the new act would impede ministers from voting on issue’s that are linked to their business interests. “On appointment to office, and thereafter, public office holders shall arrange their private affairs in a manner that will prevent real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest from arising but if such a conflict does arise between the private interests of a public office holder and the official duties and responsibilities of that public office holder, the conflict shall be resolved in favour of the public interest.”

This government has so far upheld the loophole created during the Liberal government which added to the definition of “private interest” to the Code; “Private interest” does not include an interest in a matter (a) that is of general application; (b) that affects a person as one of a broad class of the public; or (c) that concerns the remuneration or benefits of a public office holder.”

Most of what Ministers vote on is a general application, they are also people within a broad class of the public and not all public office holder’s are subject to all parts of the code. The loopholes created by the much decried former political party in power are not remedied. [ http://www.thehilltimes.ca

[1] The Hill Times, February 27th, 2006