Bill C-520

2nd Session, 41st Parliament,

62-63 Elizabeth II, 2013-2014

house of commons of canada

BILL C-520

An Act supporting non-partisan offices of agents of Parliament

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Supporting Non-Partisan Offices of Agents of Parliament Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

“agent of Parliament” refers to any of the following:

(a) the Auditor General of Canada, appointed pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Auditor General Act;

(b) the Chief Electoral Officer, appointed pursuant to subsection 13(1) of the Canada Elections Act;

(c) the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada, appointed pursuant to subsection 49(1) of the Official Languages Act;

(d) the Privacy Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 53(1) of the Privacy Act;

(e) the Information Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 54(1) of the Access to Information Act;

(f) the Senate Ethics Officer, appointed pursuant to section 20.1 of the Parliament of Canada Act;

(g) the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 81(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act;

(h) the Commissioner of Lobbying, appointed pursuant to subsection 4.1(1) of the Lobbying Act;

(i) the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, appointed pursuant to subsection 39(1) of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act; and

(j) any other position added by the Governor in Council in accordance with section 5.

“electoral candidate” has the same meaning as “candidate” in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act.

“electoral district association officer” means a person who occupies any of the following positions in an electoral district association, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act, namely

(a) chief executive officer or any other officer;

(b) appointed auditor; or

(c) financial agent.

“ministerial staff” means those persons, other than public servants, who work on behalf of a minister of the Crown or a minister of state.

“parliamentary staff” means those persons, other than public servants, who work on behalf of a senator or a member of the House of Commons.

“politically partisan position” means any of the following positions:

(a) electoral candidate;

(b) electoral district association officer;

(c) member of a ministerial staff;

(d) member of a parliamentary staff; or

(e) member of a political staff.

“political party” means a registered party as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act.

“political staff” means those persons, other than public servants, who

(a) work for a political party;

(b) work in the office of the Official Leader of the Opposition in the Senate or in the House of Commons; or

(c) work in a political party research office.

(2) A person is considered to work as a member of a ministerial staff, a parliamentary staff or a political staff, whether they work as an employee or under contract and whether they work on a full or part-time basis.

(3) Nothing in this Act is to be construed as authorizing a person who works in the office of an agent of Parliament to occupy a politically partisan position or engage in political activities.

PURPOSE

3. The purpose of this Act is, in conjunction with any other applicable rule of law, to avoid conflicts that are likely to arise or be perceived to arise between partisan activities and the official duties and responsibilities of any person who works in the office of an agent of Parliament.

APPLICATION

4. This Act applies to any person who applies or is selected for a position in the office of an agent of Parliament.

REGULATIONS

5. The Governor in Council may, by regulation:

(a) add any other position to those listed in the definition “agent of Parliament” in subsection 2(1);

(b) prescribe the form and content of the declarations referred to in section 6; and

(c) prescribe the form and content of the written undertaking referred to in section 7.

DECLARATION — OFFICE OF AN AGENT OF PARLIAMENT

6. (1) Every applicant for a position in the office of an agent of Parliament must, as soon as possible in the selection process, provide the relevant agent of Parliament with a written declaration stating whether or not, at any time in the 10 years before applying for the position, they occupied a politically partisan position. The declaration must indicate the nature of any such position, as well as the period of time during which the person occupied it.

(2) Every person who works in the office of an agent of Parliament and who intends to occupy a politically partisan position while holding the position in that office must provide the relevant agent of Parliament with a written declaration of their intention to do so. The declaration must indicate the nature of the politically partisan position, as well as the period of time during which the person intends to occupy it.

(3) The declaration referred to in subsection (1) by the applicant who has been selected to fill a position in the office of the agent of Parliament must be posted on the website of that office within 30 days of his or her being hired.

(4) The declaration referred to in subsection (2) must be posted on the website of the office of the agent of Parliament within 30 days of the date of the declaration.

WRITTEN UNDERTAKING

7. Every person referred to in section 6 must also provide a written undertaking indicating that they will, in fulfilling the official duties and responsibilities of the position in the office of the agent of Parliament, conduct themselves in a non-partisan manner.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

8. Any person who, on the day on which this Act comes into force, occupies a position in the office of an agent of Parliament must, within 30 days after the coming into force of this Act, comply with the requirements set out in section 6.

9. Any declaration made by a person described in section 8 must be posted on the website of that office within 30 days after the coming into force of this Act.

10. Any person described in section 8 who provides a written declaration indicating that they occupied a politically partisan position must also provide, within 30 days after the coming into force of this Act, a written undertaking that they have conducted and will continue to conduct themselves in a non-partisan manner in fulfilling the official duties and responsibilities of the position in the office of the agent of Parliament.