The Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators

7.1 (1) A Senator’s conduct shall uphold the highest standards of dignity inherent to the position of Senator.

7.1 (2) A Senator shall refrain from acting in a way that could reflect adversely on the position of Senator or the institution of the Senate.

7.2 A Senator shall perform his or her parliamentary duties and functions with dignity, honour and integrity. 

7.3 A senator shall refrain from engaging in conduct that constitutes harassment and violence.

8. When performing parliamentary duties and functions, a Senator shall not act or attempt to act in any way to further his or her private interests or those of a family member; or to improperly further another person's or entity's private interests. 

9. A Senator shall not use or attempt to use his or her position as a Senator to influence a decision of another person so as to further the Senator's private interests or those of a family member, or to improperly further another person's or entity's private interests. 

10. (1) If, as a result of his or her position, a Senator obtains information that is not generally available to the public, the Senator shall not use or attempt to use the information to further the Senator’s private interests or those of a family member, or to improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests.

10. (2) A Senator shall not convey or attempt to convey information referred to in subsection (1) to another person if the Senator knows, or reasonably ought to know, that the information may be used to further the Senator’s private interests, or those of a family member, or to improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests.

11. (1) In sections 8 to 10, furthering private interests of a person or entity, including the Senator’s own private interests, means actions taken by a Senator for the purpose of achieving, directly or indirectly, any of the following:
(a) an increase in, or the preservation of, the value of the person’s or entity’s assets;
(b) the elimination or a reduction in the amount of the person’s or entity’s liabilities;
(c) the acquisition of a financial interest by the person or entity;
(d) an increase in the person’s or entity’s income from a contract, a business or a profession;
(e) an increase in the person’s income from employment;
(f) the person becoming a director or officer in a corporation, association, trade union or not-for-profit organization; or
(g) the person becoming a partner in a partner-ship.

11. (2) A Senator is not considered to further his or her own private interests or the private interests of another person or entity if the matter in question
(a) is of general application;
(b) affects the Senator or the other person or entity as one of a broad class of the public; or
(c) concerns the remuneration or benefits of the Senator as provided under an Act of Parliament or a resolution of the Senate or of a Senate committee.

12. (1) If a Senator has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she, or a family member, has a private interest that might be affected by a matter that is before the Senate or a committee of which the Senator is a member, the Senator shall make a declaration regarding the general nature of the private interest. The declaration can be made orally on the record or in writing to the Clerk of the Senate or the clerk of the committee, as the case may be, but shall be made no later than the first occasion at which the Senator is present during consideration of the matter. The Speaker of the Senate shall cause the declaration to be recorded in the Journals of the Senate and the Chair of the committee shall, subject to subsection (4), cause the declaration to be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings of the committee.

12. (2) If a Senator becomes aware at a later date of a private interest that should have been declared under subsection (1), the Senator shall make the required declaration forthwith.

12. (3) The Clerk of the Senate or the clerk of the committee, as the case may be, shall send the declaration to the Senate Ethics Officer who, subject to subsection (4) and paragraph 31(1)(j), shall file it with the Senator’s public disclosure summary.

12. (3.1) Subject to subsection (4), the Senate Ethics Officer shall maintain an online and updated compilation of all declarations made over the course of each parliamentary session.

12. (4) In any case in which the declaration was made during an in camera meeting, the Chair of the committee and Senate Ethics Officer shall obtain the consent of the subcommittee on agenda and procedure of the committee concerned to:
     (a) cause the declaration to be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings of the committee;
     (b) file it with the Senator’s public disclosure summary; or
     (c) include the declaration in the compilation referred to in subsection (3.1).

12. (5) A declaration made in camera that, in compliance with subsection (4), has been neither recorded nor filed with the Senator’s public disclosure summary is only valid in respect of the proceeding during which the declaration was made or the matter that the declaration concerned was discussed, and the Senator shall make a further declaration at the first possible opportunity.

12. (6) In any circumstances other than those in subsection (1) that involve the Senator’s parliamentary duties and functions, a Senator who has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she, or a family member, has a private interest that might be affected shall make an oral declaration regarding the general nature of the private interest at the first opportunity.

12. (7) A Senator may, by declaration made under this section, retract a previous declaration, in which case the Senator may participate in debate or other deliberations and vote on the matter in respect of which the previous declaration was made.

13. (1) A Senator who has made a declaration under section 12 regarding a matter that is before the Senate may not participate in debate or any other deliberations in the Senate with respect to that matter.

13. (2) A Senator who has made a declaration under section 12 regarding a matter that is before a committee of the Senate of which the Senator is a member may not participate in debate or any other deliberations in the committee on the matter, and must withdraw from the committee for the duration of those proceedings, but the Senator need not resign from the committee.

13. (3) A Senator who has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she, or a family member, has a private interest that might be affected by a matter that is before a committee of the Senate of which the Senator is not a member may not participate in debate or any other deliberations in the committee on the matter, and must withdraw from the commit-tee for the duration of those proceedings.

13. (4) A Senator who is required by section 12 to make a declaration but has not yet done so may not participate in debate or any other deliberations on the matter and, in the case of committee proceedings, the Senator must withdraw from the committee for the duration of those proceedings.

14. A Senator who has made a declaration under section 12, or a Senator who is required to make such a declaration but has not yet done so, may not vote on the matter but may abstain.

15. If a Senator reasonably believes that another Senator has failed to make a declaration of a private interest as required by section 12 or has failed to comply with section 13 or 14, the matter may be raised with the Senate Ethics Officer.

16. For the purpose of sections 12 to 14, “private interest” means those interests that can be furthered in subsection 11(1), but does not include the matters listed in subsection 11(2).

17. (1) Neither a Senator, nor a family member, shall accept, directly or indirectly, any gift or other benefit, except compensation authorized by law, that could reasonably be considered to relate to the Senator’s position.

17. (2) A Senator, and a family member, may, however, accept gifts or other benefits received as a normal expression of courtesy or protocol, or within the customary standards of hospitality that normally accompany the Senator’s position.

17. (3) If a gift or other benefit that is accepted under subsection (2) by a Senator or his or her family member exceeds $500 in value, or if the total value of all such gifts or benefits received from one source in a 12-month period exceeds $500, the Senator shall, within 30 days after the gift or benefit is received or after that total value is exceeded, as the case may be, file with the Senate Ethics Officer a statement disclosing the nature and value of the gifts or other benefits, their source and the circumstances under which they were given.

18. (1) Notwithstanding subsection 17(1), a Senator may accept, for the Senator and guests of the Senator, sponsored travel that arises from or relates to the Senator’s position. If the travel costs of a Senator or any guest exceed $500 and are not paid personally by the Senator or the guest, and the travel is not paid through the programs for international and interparliamentary affairs of the Parliament of Canada, by the Senate, the Government of Canada or the Senator’s political party, the Senator shall, within 30 days after the end of the trip, file a statement with the Senate Ethics Officer.

18. (2) The statement shall disclose the name of the person or organization paying for the trip, the destination or destinations, the purpose and length of the trip, whether or not any guest was also sponsored, and the general nature of the benefits received.

18. (3) Any disclosure made in relation to sponsored travel does not need to be disclosed as a gift or other benefit.

19. Gifts, other benefits and sponsored travel accepted in compliance with the requirements of sections 17 and 18 are deemed to have received the consent of the Senate thereto for all purposes.

20. A Senator shall not derive a benefit, directly or indirectly, from a contract, subcontract or other business arrangement with the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body unless the Senate Ethics Officer provides a written opinion that
     (a) due to special circumstances, the contract, subcontract or other business arrangement is in the public interest; or
     (b) the contract, subcontract or other business arrangement is unlikely to affect the Senator’s obligations under this Code.

21. (1) A Senator may own securities in a public corporation that contracts with the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body unless the holdings are so significant that the Senate Ethics Officer provides a written opinion that they are likely to affect the Senator’s obligations under this Code.

21. (2) A contract between a public corporation and the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body that, in the Senate Ethics Officer’s opinion, is in the public interest due to special circumstances, shall not preclude a Senator from holding securities in that public corporation.

21. (3) For the purpose of subsection (1), a public corporation shall not be considered to contract with the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body merely because the corporation participates in a government program that meets the criteria described in section 23.

21. (4) If the Senate Ethics Officer is of the opinion that the Senator’s obligations under this Code are likely to be affected under the circumstances of subsection (1), the Senator may comply with the Code by placing the securities in a trust under such terms as the Senate Ethics Officer considers appropriate.

22. A Senator shall not have an interest in a partnership or in a private corporation that derives a benefit, directly or indirectly from a contract, subcontract, or other business arrangement with the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body unless the Senate Ethics Officer provides a written opinion that
   (a) due to special circumstances, the contract, subcontract or other business arrangement is in the public interest; or
   (b) the contract, subcontract or other business arrangement is unlikely to affect the Senator’s obligations under this Code.

23. (1) For the purposes of sections 20 and 22, participation in a program operated or funded, in whole or in part, by the Government of Canada or any federal agency or body under which a Senator — or a partnership or private corporation in which a Senator has an interest — receives a benefit is not prohibited if:
   (a) the eligibility requirements of the program are met;
   (b) the program is of general application or is available to a broad class of the public;
   (c) there is no preferential treatment with respect to the application; and
   (d) no special benefits are received that are not available to other participants in the program.

23. (2) The Senate Ethics Officer may make public an opinion in relation to subsection (1), as he or she considers appropriate, whether or not a Senator has asked for guidance or an opinion in relation to a particular program. However, if a Senator requests guidance or an opinion in relation to participation in a program that is not prohibited by subsection (1), the Senate Ethics Officer shall make his or her guidance or opinion available but may not provide or include any additional information on what was requested, nor may the Senate Ethics Officer provide any information that could reasonably reveal the identity of the Senator who requested the guidance or opinion.

24. Section 22 does not apply if the Senator has entrusted his or her interest in a partnership or private corporation to one or more trustees on all of the following terms:
(a) the provisions of the trust have been approved by the Senate Ethics Officer;
(b) the trustees are at arm’s length from the Senator and have been approved by the Senate Ethics Officer;
(c) except as provided in paragraph (d), the trustees may not consult with the Senator with respect to managing the trust, but they may consult with the Senate Ethics Officer;
(d) the trustees may consult with the Senator, with the approval of the Senate Ethics Officer and in his or her presence, if an extraordinary event is likely to materially affect the trust property;
(e) in the case of an interest in a corporation, the Senator resigns any position of director or officer in the corporation;
(f) the trustees provide the Senate Ethics Officer annually with a written report setting out the nature of the trust property, the value of that property, the trust’s net income for the preceding year and the trustees’ fees, if any; and
(g) the trustees give the Senator sufficient information to permit the Senator to submit returns as required by the Income Tax Act and give the same information to the appropriate taxation authorities.

25. The rules in sections 20, 21 and 22 do not apply to a contract or other business arrangement that existed before a Senator’s appointment to the Senate, but they do apply to its renewal or extension.

26. The rules in sections 20, 21 and 22 do not apply to an interest acquired by inheritance until the first anniversary date of the transfer of legal and beneficial ownership. In special circumstances, the Senate Ethics Officer may extend this time period.