Ministers, parliamentary secretaries, ministerial advisers and ministerial staff face special restrictions under section 12 of the Conflict of Interest Act relating to air travel. They are prohibited from accepting travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft for any purpose unless required in their capacity as public office holders, in exceptional circumstances or with the Commissioner’s prior approval.
Ministers and parliamentary secretaries who have accepted, from any source, travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft for themselves, for their families or for ministerial staff or advisers must publicly declare it within 30 days after the travel.
For all other public office holders, such travel is subject to the Act’s acceptability test for gifts or other advantages.
Any other travel accepted by ministers, parliamentary secretaries, and ministerial staff and advisers would be considered a gift or other advantage and would therefore be subject to the Act’s acceptability test for gifts.
