Managing Conflict of Interest - Organisation for Economic Co ...

Learning from Case Studies 49positions,” as the nature of governing authority depends on thekind of public office held by an individual, and even then, a mix ofgoverning statutes and policies come into play. The federal publicsector in Canada comprises many varied institutions employingclose to 400,000 people. The core public administration consistsof the “machinery of government” and all of the departments andquasi-independent agencies, such as the Canada Revenue Agencyand the Canada Border Services Agency. In addition, there are statecorporations that operate at arm’s length from the government.Sorting out the rules and regulations that apply for each group canbe quite complicated.Existing LegislationPrevention, detection, and compliance mechanisms for dealingwith real, potential, and apparent conflicts of interest in the CanadianGovernment are incorporated into several statutes and policiescurrently in effect. They include:••••••••••Parliament of Canada Act (contains provisions on conflictsof interest for elected officials);Conflict of Interest Act (guides public office holders);Federal Accountability Act (omnibus legislation passed in2006 that establishes several new accountability measures);Criminal Code of Canada (contains all criminal provisionspertaining to breach of trust, fraud, etc.);Financial Administration Act (governs all financial matters inthe federal public sector);Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (new whistleblowerprotection legislation);Canada Elections Act (specific rules governing political parties,donations, fund raising, etc.);Lobbyists Registration Act;Public Service Employment Act (ensures open and fair competitionand access to federal public service jobs);Auditor General Act (the Auditor General is an independentagent of Parliament with the mandate to audit federal publicsector institutions and report directly to Parliament);Access to Information Act (plays an important role in transparencyand promotes free press and media).•ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific