News
The Senate Ethics Officer publishes two revised guidelines: the Guideline on Outside Activities and the Guideline on Sponsored Travel
June 9, 2026 - The Senate Ethics Officer is pleased to announce that a revised Guideline on Outside Activities and a revised Guideline on Sponsored Travel were approved last week by the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators (CONF).
These revised Guidelines reflect the SEO's undertaking in last year's Annual Report to revisit the status and content of guidelines under the Code, to recognize and affirm senators' involvement in non-profit organizations, to ensure that they reflect current interpretations of the Code, and to revisit the advice relating to fundraising activities.
Some notable clarifications in the Guideline on Outside Activities include:
- Senators may be featured on the website of an outside organization and may be identified as senators;
- Senators may promote the good work of an organization in their Senate role and through letters of support;
- Subject to certain caveats, senators may participate in political fundraising and fundraising for a non-profit organization.
The Guideline is available here.
The revised Guideline on Sponsored Travel identifies the rules and principles that most often come into play when senators accept invitations for sponsored travel, namely, the obligations to avoid conflicts of interest, refrain from furthering private interests, and avoid disclosing confidential information.
The Guideline is available here.