Federal Accountability Act

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Federal Accountability Act
Parliament-Ottawa.jpg
Parliament of Canada
  • An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability
CitationStatues of Canada 2006 chapter 9 [1]
Territorial extent Canada
Enacted by House of Commons
Enacted by Senate
Royal assent December 12, 2006
Legislative history
First chamber: House of Commons
Bill title39th Parliament, Bill C-2
Introduced by John Baird, President of the Treasury Board
First reading April 11, 2006
Second reading April 27, 2006
Third reading June 21, 2006
Second chamber: Senate
Bill title39th Parliament, Bill C-2
First readingJune 22, 2006
Second readingJune 27, 2006
Third readingNovember 9, 2006
Amends
Access to Information Act , Auditor General Act , Business Development Bank of Canada Act , Canada Council for the Arts Act , Canada Elections Act , Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporations Act , Canada Post Corporation Act , Canada Revenue Agency Act , Canadian Commercial Corporation Act , Canadian Dairy Commission Act , Canadian Race Relations Foundation Act , Canadian Tourism Commission Act , Canadian Wheat Board Act , Cape Breton Development Corporation Act , Conflict of Interest Act , Criminal Code , Department of Justice Act , Department of Public Works and Government Services Act , Director of Public Prosecutions Act , Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Act , Export Development Act , Farm Credit Canada Act , Federal Courts Act , Financial Administration Act , First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act , Freshwater Fish Marketing Act , Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act , Government Employees Compensation Act , Income Tax Act , Library and Archives of Canada Act , Lobbying Act (Lobbyists Registration Act) , Museums Act , National Arts Centre Act , National Capital Act , Non-smokers' Health Act , Official Languages Act , Parliament of Canada Act , Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act , Pilotage Act , Privacy Act , Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act , Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act , Public Service Employment Act , Public Service Superannuation Act , Radiocommunication Act , Royal Canadian Mint Act , Salaries Act , Standards Council of Canada Act

The Federal Accountability Act (full title: An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability) (the Act) is a statute introduced as Bill C-2 in the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament on April 11, 2006, by the President of the Treasury Board, John Baird. The aim was to reduce the opportunity to exert influence with money by banning corporate, union, and large personal political donations; five-year lobbying ban on former ministers, their aides, and senior public servants; providing protection for whistleblowers; and enhancing the power of the Auditor General to follow the money spent by the government.

Contents

The bill aimed to increase the transparency of government spending, and establish clearer links between approved expenditures and their outcomes. The bill was passed by the House of Commons on June 22, 2006, by the Senate on November 9, 2006, and was granted royal assent on December 12, 2006.

Provisions

The following are some of the major changes instituted by the Federal Accountability Act:

Auditing and accountability within departments
Independent Oversight Offices

A number of new independent oversight offices were created, reporting directly to Parliament on the administration of the government.

New limits on individual donations to parties and candidates
Lobbying
Public Appointments Commission
Access to information
Independent Prosecution

History

The Federal Accountability Act was the first bill to be tabled by the newly elected Conservative Government. It took about nine months to pass and was significantly amended in the Senate.

The development of the Act was informed by the Conservative Party election platform for the January 2006 election and by Phase 2 of the Gomery Report (Recommendations).

When delivering his sponsor's speech in Parliament, John Baird described it as the "toughest anti-corruption law ever passed in Canada."

Amended legislation

The FedAA is an omnibus legislation - one that amends a number of other statutes. It amended the following:

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