Penalties for Parliament Hill ethics violations lack teeth, MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee said this week. The maximum penalties range from a public apology to $500 fine..“When folks ask what the penalty is and I outline some of the details in the act, $500 is certainly not significant in the eyes of many Canadians and I would agree with them,” said Conservative MP Damien Kurek (Battle River-Crowfoot, Alta.)..He said Parliament must ensure “there is disincentive for public office holders to break the rules.".According to Blacklock's Reporter, the maximum penalty under the Conflict Of Interest Act for public office holders is just $500. The Conservative Party last August 16 recommended a maximum $50,000 penalty “proportionate to the severity of the offence and the offender’s history and personal net worth,” according to a party campaign document..“I have certainly heard from constituents who have had their trust shaken in the institutions of our government,” said Kurek..The maximum penalty under a separate Conflict Of Interest Code For MPs is naming and shaming with a recommendation for a public apology..“I believe we could do this better,” said New Democrat MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, Ont.) “When I think about the ways in which we spent time in COVID going through a scandal that ultimately caused somebody to resign and move on, I don’t see the connection between the occurrences and the scale and scope of the scandal versus what is actually there as a penalty.”.Finance Minister Bill Morneau avoided a $500 penalty by resigning August 17, 2020 after approving a $43.5 million grant for We Charity. Morneau failed to disclose that We Charity hired his daughter out of college and hosted his family on $41,366 expense-paid trips to resorts in Kenya and Ecuador..“The relationship appeared to be common knowledge among ministerial staff in Mr. Morneau’s office,” said a May 13, 2021 ethics report. Records disclosed “thousands of pages of documentary evidence detailing the many official and personal communications between We Charity and his ministerial office,” it said..“There seems to be a pattern of the code and the consequences being quite different than the general public’s expectation,” said Green. Unethical conduct without consequences “leads to a level of cynicism,” he said..Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said he would review ethics codes in other countries. “It’s very serious,” testified Dion. “I would be happy to study this issue and come back within a few months with some suggestions, yes.”.In 2017, France introduced legislation that mandates the independent review of MPs’ tax returns. Parliamentarians in the Czech Republic may be referred to criminal prosecution for “breach of duty.”.Commissioner Dion in testimony last February 3 said suspending MPs for breach of ethics codes could “be an effective remedy.”.Dion in a 2018 letter to the House of Commons ethics committee advocated tougher penalties “to build trust with the Canadian public,” he wrote.
