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Here is some general information to help public office holders understand the Conflict of Interest Act. You should also read our information notices on post-employment rules and outside activities. Get confidential advice by calling 613-995-0721 or by sending us an email.
Source: Section 10 and
section 24 of the
Conflict of Interest Act
1. What does the Conflict of Interest Act require?
The Act prohibits public office holders from being influenced in the exercise of an official power, duty or function by plans for, or offers of, outside employment.
When reporting public office holders receive or accept firm offers of outside employment (that is, employment not subject to the Act), they must disclose this information to the Commissioner's Office.
2. Firm offers of outside employment while you are a reporting public office holder
You must disclose all firm offers of outside employment to the Commissioner's Office within seven calendar days after receiving them.
The term “outside employment" refers to employment that falls outside the scope of the Act's substantive conflict of interest rules, and only includes positions that create an employer/employee relationship. It encompasses employment with the private sector, a provincial or municipal government entity, or a political party.
It does not include employment as a public office holder, or with a federal government entity or federal parliamentary entity:
Federal government entity includes a department or agency of the Government of Canada, a Crown corporation established by or under an Act of Parliament, a fully owned subsidiary of a Crown corporation, and any entity to which the Governor in Council may appoint a person.
Federal parliamentary entity includes the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer, the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Parliamentary Protective Service, and the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
A “firm offer of employment" includes any serious offer, whether written or verbal, even if you do not consider it further. A legally binding agreement does not need to be in place for an offer to be firm. The conditions for a firm offer would, for example, be met once discussions have started about things like salary, vacation, and benefits.
If you are considering accepting an offer, your advisor will review your disclosure and advise you if you can accept it given your current or post-employment obligations.
3. Accepting an offer of outside employment while you are a reporting public office holder
If you subsequently accept an offer of outside employment, you must disclose this acceptance in writing to the Commissioner's Office within seven calendar days. You should not wait until a letter of offer or agreement is formally signed and executed. You should advise the Commissioner's Office when you have accepted the offer even if there are still some matters open to negotiation between you and your future employer, such as a starting date, salary, and benefits.
When the Commissioner's Office receives your disclosure, your advisor will give you additional guidance on your current and post-employment obligations.
4. How the Commissioner calculates the deadline to disclose the receipt and acceptance of a firm offer of outside employment
To calculate the seven-calendar-day deadline to disclose all firm offers of outside employment and their acceptance, the Commissioner does not count the day on which the offer was received or accepted, but the seven days after the day on which it was received or accepted.
5. Offers of employment once you have left office
You do not have to disclose offers of employment that you receive after you leave public office. However, we recommend that you contact the Commissioner's Office during your cooling-off period or when in doubt, for guidance on meeting your post-employment obligations.
6. Failure to comply with the disclosure requirements
If the Commissioner finds a public office holder has not met the disclosure requirements, he may impose an administrative monetary penalty of up to $500. Penalties are posted in the public registry.
When the Commissioner has reason to believe that a public office holder or a former public office holder was influenced in the exercise of an official power, duty or function by plans for, or offers of, outside employment, he may commence an investigation and issue a public report.
