Statement made on 09 April 2008 by Senator Joseph Day
Hon. Joseph A. Day:
Honourable senators, I rise today to join in Senator Oliver's inquiry into the implementation of the Federal Accountability Act, Bill C-2. You may not be surprised to hear that my views are rather different from those of Senator Oliver.
I was the opposition critic during the study of Bill C-2 and, along with others I know of in this chamber, I have followed closely the process since the bill was passed and received Royal Assent on December 12, 2006.
To give honourable senators some reflection on what was included in Bill C-2, there was conflict of interest legislation; there was access to information; there was the creation of the Director of Public Prosecutions; there was a Public Appointments Commission; there was lobbying legislation; and there was a Parliamentary Budget Officer, an Ethics Commissioner, the Procurement Ombudsman and the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner with respect to whistle-blowing legislation.
Honourable senators, in the time available to me today, I cannot deal with all of those items. However, I will speak briefly to conflict of interest, the public appointments commissioner and lobbying, primarily because Senator Oliver touched on those areas during his presentation.
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