While Flaherty now calls the incident “regrettable,” his case also highlights the lack of penalties for politicians and other public office holders who break the federal Conflict of Interest Act. There are no financial penalties for “substantive contraventions” of the act, according to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
Federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has ruled that Flaherty — in his capacity as Minister of Finance and minister responsible for the Greater Toronto Area — broke the rules by sending a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission supporting the licence application of Durham Radio Inc., a company based in his Whitby-Oshawa riding.
Dawson has repeatedly reminded ministers — including in multiple reports last year — of their responsibility to “not use their positions as ministers to provide greater assistance to their constituents than to other Canadians in relation to their own department or larger portfolio.”
The commissioner’s ruling came the same week questions were raised over possible ethical breaches and abuse of power by International Development Minister Julian Fantino, after two letters written by him — and critical of opposition parties — were posted on CIDA’s taxpayer-funded website.
Last year, she ruled that cabinet minister Christian Paradis violated the conflict of interest rules in his previous role as public works minister for “providing special treatment,” when he arranged a meeting with department officials for former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer.
In 2011, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney faced a firestorm of criticism, and a staff member of his resigned, for using parliamentary letterhead to raise money for the Conservative party.
The series of incidents demonstrate the fine line cabinet members face — and continue to cross — in their responsibilities as a minister, individual MP and member of a political party. The continued breaches have opposition parties demanding Prime Minister Stephen Harper hold his ministers to account.
In a rare compliance order from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Dawson said it was “improper” for Flaherty, as minister, to have written the March 2012 letter on behalf of a constituent to an administrative tribunal such as the CRTC.
Flaherty’s actions violated section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act and Harper’s own Accountable Government guide — which demands ministers not intervene in quasi-judicial decisions — she noted in her compliance order.
“I THEREFORE ORDER YOU to refrain from writing any similar letters in the future without seeking approval from my office,” she said in the order.
Flaherty’s office and the Prime Minister’s Office initially defended the minister’s actions as advocating on behalf of constituents.
In a statement Friday, Flaherty blamed an administrative oversight for the breach of conflict of interest rules. The letter was intended to be written solely in his capacity as MP for Whitby-Oshawa, he said.
“Due to an oversight my ministerial title was used in the signature block. This is regrettable and I can assure the Ethics Commissioner that this will not happen again,” Flaherty said.
But there are still questions about the lack of financial penalties facing politicians who breach the Conflict of Interest Act.
The maximum administrative monetary penalty of $500 is only applied for failing to meet reporting deadlines or provide complete information, according to the commissioner’s office. When a penalty is applied, it “is intended to encourage compliance rather than to punish,” explains a summary of the monetary penalties regime.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair wrote his own letter Friday to Harper, urging him to investigate Flaherty’s actions, hold him to account and live up to the government’s promises for more accountability.
“It’s time to close the gap between promises and reality,” Mulcair says in his letter to Harper.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jason Fekete
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