- Bill C-2, the so-called "Federal Accountability Act", passed into law on Dec. 12, 2006, contains a measure that must be approved by the federal Cabinet to create the position of an independent Commissioner of Lobbyists, to replace the current Registrar of Lobbyists who is under the control of a Cabinet minister who has the legal power to fire the person holding the Registrar position at any time for any reason -- [ LINK ]

References: - In Canada, state-owned enterprises are generally known as "Crown corporations".

- There is not one agency that oversees Crown corporations; instead, as with most federal government institutions, the following agencies and commissioners oversee the conduct and performance of Crown corporations: - Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent -- (Auditor General Act R.S., 1985, c. A-17) -- [ LINK ]7" target="_blank">[ LINK ] -- Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

- Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. NOTE: many Crown corporations are required to have their own ethics rules, and so are not covered by the Conflict of Interest Act

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/A-1 NOTE: some Crown corporations are exempt from the Act (as of Sept. 1, 2007, 50 government institutions (mainly Crown corporations) were added to the list of federal government institutions covered by the Act as a result of the passage on Dec. 12, 2006, of the Federal Accountability Act (2006, c. 9) -- [ LINK ]

- Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

- Privacy Commissioner -- who investigates complaints about the abuse or disclosure of personal information collected by federal government institutions under the Privacy Act (R.S., 1985, c. P-21) -- [ LINK ]

- The Public Service Commission (which, in addition to making appointments and hirings itself, also conducts audits and also investigates and rules on complaints about non-merit-based appointments) are appointed without any public process by the federal Cabinet under subsection 4(5), and members of the Public Service Staffing Tribunal (which hears and rules on appeals of the Commission's rulings) are appointed without any public process by the federal Cabinet under sections 88 and 90 of the Public Service Employment Act (2003, c. 22, ss. 12, 13) -- [ LINK ]

- The members of the Public Service Labour Relations Board (which rules on various federal public service labour matters as set out in collective bargaining agreements) are appointed without any public process by the federal Cabinet under sections 12 and 18 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act ( 2003, c. 22, s. 2 ) -- [ LINK ]

- Bill C-2, the so-called "Federal Accountability Act", passed into law on Dec. 12, 2006, contains a measure that must be approved by the federal Cabinet to create the position of an independent Commissioner of Lobbyists, to replace the current Registrar of Lobbyists who is under the control of a Cabinet minister who has the legal power to fire the person holding the Registrar position at any time for any reason -- [ LINK ]

References: All of the following agencies and watchdogs have formal organizational independence in law from the government (ie. fixed terms in office (usually five-seven years) with dismissal allowed only for cause, effective control of office budget and staffing, adequate (if not full) investigative powers):

- Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent -- under the Auditor General Act (R.S., 1985, c. A-17) -- [ LINK ]7" target="_blank">[ LINK ] -- appointed to a fixed term of 10 years

- Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/A-1

- Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

References: All of the following agencies and watchdogs have a professional, full-time staff:

- Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent. The AG has a fixed term under the law of 10 years

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- [ LINK ] The Information Commissioner has a fixed term of seven years.

- Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

- The following agencies do not have full-time, professional staff: - Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons - the Commissioner has a fixed term under the Act of seven years. The Ethics Commissioner from March 2004 until April 2007 was Bernard Shapiro, who had no legal training, had never been in a similar enforcement position, and who hired the same lawyers to advise him as the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers used as legal counsel. See details in Democracy Watch's news release about its court challenge of the Ethics Commissioner at: [ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ]

- Also with regard to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the new Commissioner (appointed on July 9, 2007) must (under changes made by the Federal Accountability Act (which became law in December 2006) keep the same staff as the old Commissioner had, and the staff has demonstrated incompetence and bias in their enforcement practices in the past. See details in Democracy Watch's news release about its court challenge of the Ethics Commissioner at: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsSep2905.html

- Bill C-2, the so-called "Federal Accountability Act", passed into law on Dec. 12, 2006, contains a measure that must be approved by the federal Cabinet to create the position of an independent Commissioner of Lobbyists, to replace the current Registrar of Lobbyists who is under the control of a Cabinet minister who has the legal power to fire the person holding the Registrar position at any time for any reason. Bbetween 1988 and March 2004 the Registrar was Howard Wilson, who had no legal training and no experience enforcing any legal regime. In March 2004, he was replaced by new appointee Michael Nelson, who also has no legal training and no experience enforcing any legal regime -- [ LINK ]

- Also with regard to the Registrar of Lobbyists, the to-be-appointed Commissioner of Lobbying must keep the same staff as the current Registrar has, and the staff has demonstrated incompetence and bias in their enforcement practices in the past. See details in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Registrar at: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsSep2905.html and Democracy Watch's 2007 news release about its second court challenge of the Registrar at: [ LINK ]

References: - The following agency receives regular funding: - Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

- The following four agencies and watchdogs have shown clearly that they do not have adequate, regular funding by the backlog of open files in their annual reports (or, in the case of the Auditor General, the fact that the Auditor acknowledges that large government spending initiatives are usually audited only once every five years (at most)): - Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent.

- Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- [ LINK ] The Information Commissioner has a fixed term of seven years.

- Registrar of Lobbyists -- [ LINK ] See details in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Registrar at: [ LINK ] and Democracy Watch's 2007 news release about its second court challenge of the Registrar at: [ LINK ]

- The following agency is new as of spring 2007, so its funding track record is not yet known: - Public Sector Integrity Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who addresses complaints about public servants violating laws, regulations, codes, policies and guidelines. The Commissioner has a fixed term under law of seven years.

Peer Review Comments: If we are talking about crown-owned companies, the agency in charge of their assets is fully staffed and funded. The auditor office as well as the official language office are not state-owned companies.

References: The following three agencies and watchdogs usually initiate investigations when necessary: - Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent.

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- [ LINK ]

- Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

- The following two agencies and watchdogs have a very poor record over the past three years of failing to initiate investigations when necessary: - Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (NOTE: a new Conflict of Interest Commissioner was appointed on July 9, 2007). See details in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Commissioner at: [ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ] and Democracy Watch's April 2007 news release about the Commissioner's overall record between March 2004 and April 2007: [ LINK ]

- Registrar of Lobbyists -- [ LINK ] See details in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Registrar at: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsSep2905.html and Democracy Watch's 2007 news release about its second court challenge of the Registrar at: [ LINK ]

- The following agency is new as of spring 2007, so its record of initiating investigations is not yet known: - Public Sector Integrity Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who addresses complaints about public servants violating laws, regulations, codes, policies and guidelines.

References: - None of the following agencies and watchdogs have the power to penalize offenders: - Auditor General of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who is the front-line investigator helping ensure that the federal government complies with the Financial Administration Act and regulations, and its own spending codes, policies and guidelines, and receives value for money spent. If a violation of the Act is suspected, the Auditor General is required to refer the matter to the police.

- Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Conflict of Interest Act (new as of July 2007) and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons. (NOTE: a new Conflict of Interest Commissioner was appointed on July 9, 2007). Before July 9, 2007, the Commissioner did not have the power to penalize offenders, only to recommend penalties. As of July 9, 2007, the Commissioner has the power to penalize offenders of the Conflict of Interest Act (which applies to the Prime MInister, Cabinet ministers, some ministerial staff, and some Cabinet appointees) only a maximum of $500 (US$505), and continues to have the power to recommend penalties for members of the House of Commons. See details of the Ethics Commissioner's record from March 2004 until April 2007 in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Commissioner at: [ LINK ]" target="_blank">[ LINK ] and Democracy Watch's April 2007 news release about the Commissioner's overall record between March 2004 and April 2007: [ LINK ]

- Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada -- [ LINK ] -- who enforces the Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 ) -- [ LINK ] Under the Act, the Commissioner only has the power to make recommendations.

- Commissioner of Official Languages -- [ LINK ] -- who investigates complaints and has the power to issue reports and make recommendations concerning the federal government's compliance with the Official Languages Act (1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)) -- [ LINK ]

- The following agency has a very poor record of penalizing offenders: - Registrar of Lobbyists -- [ LINK ] -- if the Registrar suspects that the Lobbyists Registration Act is being violated, the Registrar is required under the Act to refer the matter to the police. The Registrar has the power to find a lobbyist guilty of violating the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (which came into force in 1997), but the only penalty is a public report stating that the lobbyist has violated the Code (only one lobbyist has been found guilty of violating the Code, in spring 2007, despite allegations that more than 20 lobbyists have violated the Code). See details in Democracy Watch's 2005 news release about its court challenge of the Registrar at: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsSep2905.html and Democracy Watch's 2007 news release about its second court challenge of the Registrar at: [ LINK ]

The following agency is new as of spring 2007, so its record of penalizing offenders is not yet known: - Public Sector Integrity Commissioner -- [ LINK ] -- who addresses complaints about public servants violating laws, regulations, codes, policies and guidelines. The Commissioner(first appointed on July 9, 2007) is required by law to file a report with a tribunal (still to be created) and the tribunal will impose penalties (if any).

Peer Review Comments: State-owned companies are capable of taking measures when a contract is not respected and can act in possible cases of fraud, but they are quite slow to take such measures.

References: - State-owned companies (legal name in Canada is "Crown corporations") are required to produce a publicly available annual report that includes financial records under sections 149 to 152 (contained in Part X) of the Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

References: - State-owned companies (legal name in Canada is "Crown corporations") are required to produce a publicly available annual report that includes financial records under sections 149 to 152 (contained in Part X) of the Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

- An Internet search produced no examples of Crown corporations not producing an annual report including financial records.

- The independent government agency Auditor General of Canada conducts audits of Crown corporations (although the Auditor has the discretion to delegate auditing to auditors the corporation may select), and as a result there is usually not an issue of timeliness of audits. See information at: [ LINK ] and at: [ LINK ]

References: - State-owned companies (legal name in Canada is "Crown corporations") are required to produce a publicly available annual report that includes financial records under sections 149 to 152 (contained in Part X) of the Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

- The independent government agency Auditor General of Canada conducts audits of Crown corporations (although the Auditor has the discretion to delegate auditing to third-party auditors the corporation may select), and as a result there is usually not an issue of timeliness of audits. See information at: [ LINK ] and at: [ LINK ]

References: - State-owned companies (legal name in Canada is "Crown corporations") are required to produce a publicly available annual report that includes financial records under sections 149 to 152 (contained in Part X) of the Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

- These records are generally available on-line.

- However, Crown corporations are not required to file their annual reports with the responsible Cabinet minister until three months after the end of the corporation's fiscal year and the responsible minister does not have to disclose the annual reports to the public for another 15 days. As a result, there is some delay in the public's access to up-to-date financial records.

References: - State-owned companies (legal name in Canada is "Crown corporations") are required to produce a publicly available annual report that includes financial records under sections 149 to 152 (contained in Part X) of the Financial Administration Act (R.S., 1985, c. F-11) -- [ LINK ]

- These records are generally available on-line at no cost.