News
The Senate Ethics Officer publishes the revised Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators adopted by the Senate in June this year and a revised Guideline on Gifts and Other Benefits to reflect one of the amendments to the Code
July 2026 — The Senate Ethics Officer is pleased to announce that two amendments to the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators were recommended to the Senate by the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators and approved by the Senate on June 11, 2026. The revised Code is available here
These are the two amendments:
The first relates to section 17 of the Code, which previously read as follows:
Prohibition — gifts and other benefits
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.
The amended section 17 now reads:
Prohibited gifts and benefits
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 seen to have been given to influence the senator in the exercise of a duty or function of their office.
This amendment would align the Senate Code with the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. The amendment focuses on the underlying purpose of the prohibition on receiving gifts and other benefits – to prohibit senators from receiving gifts or benefits that are offered to them in their official capacity, if the circumstances suggest that the gift or benefit was given for purposes of trying to influence them in the performance of their senatorial role.
To reflect this amendment, the Senate Ethics Officer prepared a revised Guideline on Gifts and Other Benefits (2026), which was approved by the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators on June 3, 2026. The revised Guideline can be accessed here
The second amendment relates to section 23 of the Code, which previously read as follows:
Clarification — government programs
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.
(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.
The amendment would substitute the previous subsection 23(2) with the following:
(2) Any opinion provided by the Senate Ethics Officer at the request of a senator in respect of subsection (1) is an opinion within the meaning of paragraphs 31(1)(e) and (f).
This amendment simply makes clear that any opinion rendered under subsection 23(1) regarding participation in government programs should be included in a senator’s Public Disclosure Summary. The previous provision was unclear on this point.