The Conservative Party is vowing to implement tough anti-corruption legislation if elected in the September 20 federal election.
In a news release, Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole announced on August 18 that Canada’s Conservatives will pass an Anti-Corruption Act to greatly strengthen federal legislation on ethics, lobbying, and transparency.
“Canada’s Recovery Plan will punish ethical violations by politicians and clean up the mess in Ottawa,” said O’Toole. “Canada’s Conservatives will introduce tougher ethics laws, prevent cover-ups, and ensure that lobbying is properly regulated.”
Kelly Block is the incumbent Conservative MP representing the riding of Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek.
Canada’s Conservatives will pass an Anti-Corruption Act to:
* Ensure there are monetary penalties for any violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau were both found to have behaved unethically but faced no penalties for their conflicts of interest.
* Increase fines for ethical violations from a maximum of $500 to a maximum of $50,000 to deter unethical behaviour.
* Ensure cabinet confidence can no longer be used to shield government insiders from criminal investigation. Cabinet confidence is meant to ensure good government, not shield illegal behaviour.
* Avoid a repeat of the SNC-Lavalin scandal by requiring all meetings by corporations and organizations to be reported, and ban lobbying on a matter where the entity is the subject of a criminal proceeding under that matter.
* Prevent Members of Parliament from collecting speaking fees.
“In a democracy, nobody should be able to use their connections to get out of facing prosecution if they’re accused of breaking the law,” said O’Toole. “That’s why we will clean up entitlement, and restore ethics to government. There’s only one choice to secure accountability – Canada’s Conservatives.”