‘Sliding scale’ of penalties necessary for ethical breaches, says watchdog

A democracy watchdog says the government should consider implementing a “sliding scale of penalties” for ethical breaches in wake of the Trudeau government’s ongoing WE Charity scandal. Appearing before the House Ethics Committee on Monday, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch made the suggestion in response to questions from NDP MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, Ont.) about whether or not Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) violated the Conflict of Interest Act. “A sliding scale of penalties is something that could and should be considered, that if you are paid more, the penalties should be higher,” said Mr. Conacher. According to the act, those found in breach of the rules could face a fine of up to $500. Mr. Morneau is being investigated by the ethics commissioner over his failure to recuse himself from the discussions involving WE Charity, which has ties to his family, and for belatedly reimbursing the organization more than $40,000 in travel expenses after he and his family took two trips on its dime. The minister, during his testimony before the Finance Committee last month, admitted that he had repaid WE, saying he thought he had covered all the costs associated with the trips. Under the act, public officer holders must disclose any gifts or other “advantages” to the ethics commissioner received by them or a member of their family that exceeds $200. They must do so within 30 days “after the day on which the value exceeds $200,” according to Section 23 of the act. “It is possible that Mr. Morneau thought he paid for his entire trip,” said Mr. Conacher, noting the minister testified that he paid $52,000 in flight and hotel costs, but was “surprised”that he hadn’t been billed for other expenses related to the “humanitarian” aspects of the trip his family took. WE, for its part, have said it occasionally offers complimentary trips to high-profile philanthropists in order to show them their work. The Morneau family has also recently made donations worth $100,000 to the organization. In recent weeks, Mr. Morneau has apologized for failing to duck out of cabinet conversations involving the decision to grant WE Charity the now-cancelled contract to oversee the Canada Student Service Grant and for the belated reimbursement of expenses. This is not the minister’s first run-in with the ethics commissioner. In 2017, he paid a $200 fine when then-ethics commissioner Mary Dawson ruled he had failed to disclose that he had set up a French corporation, which owns a villa in France, upon taking office. Mr. Conacher’s organization is also encouraging MPs on the committee to draft a new bill aimed at preventing conflicts of interest, so they are not found “guilty by association” by their constituents. “Private members’ bills have a much better chance of passing in a minority government. Recruit your colleagues, and even if the party leaders resist and try to maintain this currently undemocratic, unethical, and corrupt system, hopefully, a critical mass of MPs will say, ‘No, we’re going to finally clean things up, in part so we’re not found guilty by association to the people who are there serving their own interests and the interests of those who have done favours for them.’ ” He also called on the MPs to set guidelines in consultation with the auditor general for “compliance checks,” which could be used to address concerns around conflicts of interest. Mr. Conacher noted in a follow-up email with The Hill Times that the Conflict of Interest Act "does not say that a review has to take place every five years after the first review," unlike a provision in the Lobbying Act. A section of the act, which came into force in 2007, states a review can be taken "within five years," but this does not go far enough in ensuring a review is done every five years, he said. Mr. Conacher also clarified that he would support amendments to the Conflict of Interest Act, as it does not necessarily need "to be replaced by a new act." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's (Papineau, Que.), like Mr. Morneau, is also facing an investigation by the ethics commissioner over his failure to recuse himself from the decision to work with WE, despite his family's ties to the group. Mr. Conacher also questioned why the organization had not been registered with the federal lobbyists' registry. He said the current rules are not sufficiently transparent. Federal lobbying rules dictate that a group's in-house employees must register communications it has with the government if it meets the so-called 20 per cent rule. If the combined lobbying activities, including preparation work, by all employees reach 20 per cent or more of the work of a single full-time worker over 30 days, organizations must register. Craig and Marc Kielburger, co-founders of the WE brand, told the House Finance Committee last month that they believed their organization’s activities with the government did not cross the threshold of lobbying. They argued that it Employment and Social Development Canada’s Rachel Wernick, a senior bureaucrat, who reached out to the organization. Ms. Wernick acknowledged in earlier testimony at the Finance Committee that she “volunteered” to reach out to the group. Editor's note: this story has been updated to correct references to federal lobbying rules, and correct and better reflect Mr. Conacher's comments. The Hill Times

‘Sliding scale’ of penalties necessary for ethical breaches, says watchdog

According to the act, those found in breach of the rules could face a fine of up to $500.

Health misinformation is hurting patients and undermining trust. Let’s do something about it.

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Follow us

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

‘Sliding scale’ of penalties necessary for ethical breaches, says watchdog

According to the act, those found in breach of the rules could face a fine of up to $500.

Become a Political Insider