Renewal of the public and political arena:
THE ETHICS CODE

Several problems

Our political institutions are suffering from a democratic deficit and a lack of transparency. Of course, a part of the problem is that public funds are still being used for the purposes of patronage.

The almighty Prime Minister's Office is no stranger to this reality, patronage being at the heart of many important nominations. On the other hand, the Members of Parliament have very little input in the development of government policies.

Another part of the problem is the incredible amount of power held by the technocrats, who are behind most of our government's policies. The power held by high-ranking civil servants is due to their impunity and to the lack of leadership on the part of our politicians.

We must have more control over all levels of the political apparatus in order to eradicate corruption.

Some solutions

During our first mandate, we will adopt a far-reaching ethics code, through a framework legislation, that will:

• Clarify and increase the rights of the Members of Parliament in developing government policies;
• Specify and reinforce the role of parliamentary commissions;
• Limit the power of the Prime Minister for certain nominations (most notably to the Supreme Court and the Governor General) by creating committees whose mandate it will be to make recommendations;
• Clearly define a way of making high-ranking civil servants impeachable for their role in developing and managing public policies;
• Create stricter controls for lobbyists.

An ethics commissioner will be chosen and will be accountable to Parliament, not to the Prime Minister, through a parliamentary ethics committee. This commissioner will put forth a public report and will have investigative powers much like the Auditor General.

We will also put a stop to the patronage that exists in the relationship between government and private enterprise. Indeed, we shall:

• Specify and tighten the rules relating to business subsidies;
• Require applicant businesses to undergo a social balance-sheet exercise;
• Impose a vast reform on the financing of political parties.