1 MEMBERS’ CONFLICT OF INTEREST B I L L No. 212 of

An Act to amend The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act (Integrity of Members) (Assented to , 1997) WHEREAS, on June 14, 1993, by resolution of the Legislative Assembly, a Code of Ethical Conduct was adopted as follows: “Code of Ethical Conduct For Members of the Legislative Assembly

Preamble As Members of the Legislative Assembly we recognize that our actions have a profound impact on the lives of all Saskatchewan people. Fulfilling our obligations and discharging our duties responsibly requires a commitment to the highest ethical standards. Statement of Commitment To the people of this province, we owe the responsible execution of our official duties, in order to promote human and environmental welfare. To our constituents, we owe honesty, accessibility, accountability, courtesy and understanding.

To our colleagues in this Assembly, we owe loyalty to shared principles, respect for differences, and fairness in political dealings. We believe that the fundamental objective of public office is to serve our fellow citizens with integrity in order to improve the economic and social conditions of all Saskatchewan people. We reject political corruption and will refuse to participate in unethical political practices which tend to undermine the democratic traditions of our province and its institutions.

Declaration of Principles Members of this Assembly must carry out their official duties and arrange their private financial affairs in a manner that protects the public interest and enhances public confidence and trust in government and in high standards of ethical conduct in public office.

Members of this Assembly must act not only lawfully but also in a manner that will withstand the closest public scrutiny; neither the law nor this code is designed to be exhaustive, and there will be occasions on which Members will find it necessary to adopt more stringent norms of conduct in order to protect the public interest and to enhance public confidence and trust. 2 MEMBERS’ CONFLICT OF INTEREST2 Every Member is individually responsible for preventing potential and actual conflicts of interest, and must arrange private financial affairs in a manner that prevents such conflicts from arising.

Members of the Assembly must carry out their official duties objectively and without consideration of personal or financial interests. Members of the Assembly must not accept gifts, benefits or favours except for incidental gifts or customary hospitality of nominal value as provided for in legislation. Members of the Assembly must not take personal advantage of or private benefit from information that is obtained in the course of or as a result of their official duties or positions and that is not in the public domain.

Members of the Assembly must not engage in personal conduct that exploits for private reasons their positions or authorities or that would tend to bring discredit to their offices. Members of the Assembly must not use, or allow the use of, public property or services for personal gain.

Members of the Assembly, when leaving public office and when they have left public office, must not take improper advantage of their former office.” AND WHEREAS no method of enforcement of this code currently exists and it is deemed expedient to enact legislation to do so; NOW THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows:

Short title This Act may be cited as The Integrity of Members of the Legislative Assembly Act. S.S. 1993, c.M-11.11 amended The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act is amended in the manner set forth in this Act.

Section amended 3(1) Subsection 29(1) is amended (

a) by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “A member who has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that another member is in contravention of this Act” when they occur therein; and (

b) by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “the commissioner give an opinion respecting the compliance of the other member with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein. (2) Subsection 29(3) is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “any matter respecting the compliance of a member with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein. 3 MEMBERS’ CONFLICT OF INTEREST 3 (3) Subsection 29(4) is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “any matter respecting the compliance of a member of the Executive Council with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein.

Section amended Clause 30(1)(

b) is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “respecting the compliance of a member with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein.

Section amended

Section is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words: (a) “finds that the member has contravened any provision of this Act” where they occur in the general words of subsection 31(1) preceding clause (

a) thereof; and (b) “that the member be ordered to comply with the Act” where they occur in clause 31(1)(

a) thereof.

Section amended 6(1) Subsection 32(1) is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “the compliance of the member with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein. (2) Subsection 32(2) is amended by adding the words “or the Code of Ethical Conduct” immediately after the words “the compliance of the Member of the Executive Council with the provisions of this Act” where they occur therein. Coming into force This Act comes into force on assent.