Issues

Issue - Government Accountablity
	The Liberal government will submit Judge Gomery’s second report to a Parliamentary Committee for study and advice to the government and to Parliament

	Ensure that all officers of Parliament are appointed through consultation with all parties in the House of Commons and confirmed through a secret ballot of all Members of Parliament, not just named by the prime minister Establish a Public Appointments Commission to set merit-based requirements for appointments to government boards, commissions, and agencies, to ensure that competitions for posts are widely publicized and fairly conducted Prevent ministerial aides and other political appointees receiving favoured treatment when applying for public service positions Extend to ten years the period for which Elections Act violations can be investigated and prosecuted Limit individual donations to parties or candidates to a maximum of $1,000 Prohibit all corporate, union, and organization donations to political parties, ridings, and candidates Ban cash donations to political parties or candidates of more than $20 Extend to ten years the period for which Elections Act violations can be investigated and prosecuted Extend to five years the period during which former ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior public servants cannot lobby government Ban success or contingency fee arrangements Require ministers and senior government officials to record their contacts with lobbyists Make the Registrar of Lobbyists an independent officer of Parliament Give the Registrar of Lobbyists the mandate and resources to investigate violations Ensure that all government public opinion research is automatically published within six months of the completion of the project, and prohibit verbal-only reports Ensure that an independent review is conducted of government public opinion research practices discussed in Chapter 5 of the auditor general’s November 2003 report to determine whether further action, such as a judicial inquiry, is required Open up the bidding process for government advertising and public opinion contracts to prevent insider firms from monopolizing government business Review and amend all contracting rules to make the government’s procurement process free from political interference Appoint a procurement auditor to ensure that all procurements are fair and transparent, and to address complaints from vendors Permit smaller vendors and vendors outside of the National Capital Region to receive due consideration for government contracts Ask the auditor general to conduct, on an expedited basis, an audit of all federal grant, contribution, and contracting policies, and commit to following her recommendations Increase funding for the Office of the Auditor General to ensure she has the necessary resources to conduct a complete audit of grant and contribution programs and of any such departments, agencies, and Crown corporations as she deems necessary Provide a general public interest override for all exemptions Ensure all exemptions from the disclosure of government information are justified only on the basis of the harm or injury that would result from disclosure, not blanket exemption rules Ensure that the disclosure requirements of the Access to Information Act cannot be circumvented by secrecy provisions in other federal acts, while respecting the confidentiality of national security and the privacy of personal information Give the Comptroller General the overall authority for the internal audit function in each government department Designate the deputy minister of each government department or agency as the accounting officer for that department. The deputy will be responsible to Parliament for the departmental spending and administrative practices of his or her department Require that, in the event of a disagreement between a minister and deputy minister on a matter of administration, the minister must provide written instruction to the deputy minister and notify the auditor general and comptroller general of the disagreement Create the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, with the responsibility to conduct prosecutions under federal jurisdiction Give the Director of Public Prosecutions the power to make binding and final decisions to prosecute or not unless the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General instructs the Director to do otherwise by means of public written notice Appoint the Director of Public Prosecutions from among qualified candidates recommended by a committee which will include representatives of the opposition parties in Parliament Give the Director of Public Prosecutions the mandate to review recent decisions on prosecutions in the sponsorship scandal and other matters which have been the subject of investigation by the Auditor General and the Ethics Counsellor or Commissioner Structure the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in accordance with best practices in other jurisdictions such as British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Australia, and the United Kingdom Give the information commissioner the power to order the release of information. Expand the coverage of the act to all Crown corporations, officers of Parliament, foundations, and organizations that spend taxpayers’ money or perform public functions Subject the exclusion of cabinet confidences to review by the information commissioner Oblige public officials to create the records necessary to document their actions and decisions Give the ethics commissioner the power to fine violators Prevent the prime minister from overruling the ethics commissioner on whether the prime minister, a minister, or an official is in violation of the Conflict of Interest Code Enshrine the Conflict of Interest Code into law Close the loopholes that allow ministers to vote on matters connected with their business interests End trusts that allow ministers to remain informed about their business interests, and require all ministerial assets to be placed in truly blind trusts Allow members of the public – not just politicians – to make complaints to the ethics commissioner Make part-time or non-remunerated ministerial advisers subject to the Ethics Code Create independent Parliamentary Budget Authority to provide objective analysis directly to Parliament about the state of the nation’s finances and trends in the national economy Require government departments and agencies to provide accurate, timely information to the Parliamentary Budget Authority Ensure government fiscal forecasts are updated quarterly and that they provide complete data for both revenue and spending Prohibit nominated candidates or MPs seeking re-election from accepting large personal gifts Ban the use of trust funds to finance candidates’ campaigns Require that all sitting or elected MPs report the existence of any trust funds or secret accounts, and that such accounts be wound up

	During the 2006 election campaign, Jack Layton unveiled the NDP plan to improve government accountability by taking the power out of the hands of lobbyists, making key appointments based on merit; improving freedom-of-information legislation; implementing strong whistleblower legislation; and improving accountability in financing leadership campaigns Create an independent ethics counsellor, toughen up conflict-of-interest guidelines and cracking down on expense accounts Implement a Parliamentary review of senior appointments to bodies such as Crown corporations, agencies and boards Have "third parties" report publicly on the funds they received for election campaigns and advertising Crack down on unaccountable election slush funds Enact whistleblower laws to protect civil servants

	Be an accountable, transparent and honest government that respects democratic regulations Implement tougher ethics rules for Ottawa in order to avoid another sponsorship scandal

	Create Government Accountability Act to ensure those who monitor government are selected at arms length from those they monitor, and to guarantee transparency and openness for all government activities Strengthen mandates of Independent Officers of Parliament, including the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner Replace the current Ethics Commissioner with an independent Ethics Commission who would report to Parliament, appointed through a merit-based process Support effective whistleblower protection for public and private sector employees Institute code of conduct and independent complaints process to ensure that tax dollars are not used for pre-election partisan purposes Limit the amount of donations to candidates to no more than $1,000 annually from any donor, with the full identity of donors clearly disclosed Provide parliamentarians with independent regulatory audits on the effectiveness of government regulations in meeting their stated public purposes Institute mandatory training in ethics for MPs and their staff Make service improvements a priority for all agencies and departments, with systematic citizen feedback and a schedule for review Reinforce the political independence of public sector employees Reform the appointments system to discourage patronage Strengthen the rules of conduct for lobbying

Issue - Government Accountablity