The House and Its Members / Responsibility and Conduct of Members

Report of the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on the former Member for Simcoe—Grey: inability to make a statement; report concurred in after 30 sitting days

November 14, 2011

Debates, p. 3033

On September 19, 2011, the Speaker presented to the House the report of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner entitled The Guergis Report.^[1] It was determined that Helena Guergis (Member for Simcoe—Grey at the time, defeated in the election of May 2011) had contravened sections 8 and 9 of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons^[2] by furthering her own private interests or those of a member of her family. On November 14, 2011, during Routine Proceedings, Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay) proposed that The Guergis Report be referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for study so that it could investigate the Commissioner’s findings in greater detail and report to the House.

The Speaker made a statement immediately to inform the House that while section 28(9) of the Code^[3] gives a Member who is the subject of a Commissioner’s report the right to make a statement in the House, Ms. Guergis was no longer a Member and thus was unable to speak. Given the circumstances, the Speaker invited the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to consider the matter, examine the Code and make recommendations. He then allowed the House to proceed with the debate on the motion moved by Mr. Angus.

Statement of the Chair

The Speaker: Before debate begins on the motion just moved, I would like to make a short statement.

As members well know, the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons provides for certain procedures that the House must follow should the Ethics Commissioner conclude that a Member has not complied with an obligation under the Code. These procedures differ depending on the nature of the contravention and can lead to a debate and a vote on a motion to concur in the report.

In the case of the particular report that has given rise to the motion now before the House and without anticipating what decision the House may make, the Chair believes that the House is now faced with a situation never envisaged when the Code was first drafted. One basic principle entrenched in many of our rules allows for individuals who are the subject of such reports to be heard—that is, to participate in debate and present arguments. Indeed, section 28, paragraph 9 of the Code^[4] assumes this in stating that:

Within 10 sitting days after the tabling of the report of the Commissioner in the House of Commons, the Member who is the subject of the report shall have a right to make a statement in the House immediately following Question Period, provided that he or she shall not speak for more than 20 minutes.

This opportunity is, of course, no longer afforded to the former Member for Simcoe—Grey, who was not returned after the last election. It would seem to the Chair that the House may wish to reflect on the circumstance, and accordingly I would invite the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to examine the Code in light of this unforeseen situation and to make any recommendation it deems appropriate.

I thank hon. Members for their attention.

Postscript

The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs examined the Code during the Forty-First and Forty-Second Parliaments,^[5] but no recommendations were made regarding section 28(9).^[6]