After thirty years of various initiatives with respect to a Code of conduct for parliamentarians, the House of Commons adopted the first Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons on April 29, 2004. The Code came into force with the 38th Parliament, in October 2004. It is part of the Standing Orders of the House and must be reviewed within five years of its coming into effect by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

An important role of the Ethics Commissioner is to govern, as assigned by, and on behalf of the House of Commons, the conduct of its Members when carrying out their duties and functions as Members of Parliament. The Commissioner carries out these duties and functions, within the institution of the House of Commons and under the general direction of the House committee designated to this effect. In doing so, he enjoys the House of Commons' privileges and immunities.

As part of the administration of the Code, the Ethics Commissioner's Office keeps, within its premises, the public registry of all Members' public disclosure summaries, as prescribed by the Code. It is available for public viewing, in our Office, during working days, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. E.S.T.

Finally, at the request of any Member, the Ethics Commissioner also provides written confidential opinions to Members (as per section 26 of the Code) and conduct inquiries (as per section 27 of the Code) into any Member's alleged non-compliance with the Code's obligations. The reports on inquiries must be presented to the House of Commons for its consideration.

In addition to the Code itself, this section of the website contains relevant information in understanding the Code, information on the public registry for Members of the House of Commons. It also includes the various disclosure statements forms for Members as required by the Code, the Commissioner's reports on inquiries pursuant to the Members' Code, and his annual reports on activities in relation to Members of the House of Commons.