Government Moves to Strengthen Transparency

For immediate release
October 21, 2005

Ottawa - The Honourable Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board, and the Honourable Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, today announced additional measures to further guarantee a high level of transparency regarding the operations of government in the service of Canadians.

"True accountability is about the independence and integrity of an organization's audit capacity - but it is also very much about transparency", said Alcock.  "Transparency validates accountability and allows citizens to make judgements about the effectiveness of their government."

The government will increase transparency in three areas:

• strengthening the integrity of its relations with suppliers of goods and services;
• providing more information to Canadians through proactive disclosure; and
• improving its reporting on commitments.

Strengthening the integrity of relations with suppliers

Canadians have a right to expect that the working relationship between the government and the private sector - which involves transactions worth billions of dollars each year - be founded on integrity.  The government will immediately begin working with the private sector to develop a strong Code of Fair Contract Practices, an integrity pact between government and those with whom it contracts.

As part of this new approach, integrity provisions will be embedded in all contracts to provide a clear statement of the obligations currently set out in the Criminal Code, including prohibitions against paying, offering, demanding or accepting bribes or colluding with others to obtain a contract.  Integrity clauses would include the disclosure requirements contained in the Lobbyist Registration Act.

"The Code of Fair Contract Practices and the integrity provisions in contracts will strengthen our existing practices to ensure fairness, openness and transparency", said Minister Brison. "This code will further clarify expectations for both suppliers and public servants."

On another front, important amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act that came into force in June 2005 will help strengthen transparency in lobbying activities.  The Registrar enforces the Act and The Lobbyists Code of Conduct.  To further enhance its independence, the Office of the Registrar will operate as a stand-alone entity within Industry Canada, pending further potential enhancements to the Office's independence.

Making more information available.

Proactive disclosure of information is another important way to make information available to Canadians.  The government already provides proactive disclosure on hospitality and travel expenses, and contracts over $10,000 and reclassification of positions.

Starting in the spring 2006, the government will make information on grants and contributions publicly available on its Web sites through proactive disclosure, initially for those above $25,000.  In addition, the government will determine how best to publicly report information on its responses to specific cases of serious wrongdoing and misconduct, in a manner that respects the law on individual privacy and the principles of natural justice.

Reporting to Parliament

Following consultations with Parliamentarians, the government will confirm its plan to report to Parliament and to the public in a more efficient way.

Next year, demonstrating the priority the government places on management, Parliament will receive reports on the state of government-wide management and on human resources management.

In addition, the government will expand its reporting on policy priorities on a government-wide basis.  For example, in 2005, it will report total spending on all federal programs targeted toward Aboriginal peoples and follow later with a similar aggregate report of all spending on climate change activities across government.

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