Some Cabinet ministerial staffers say hospitality rules are ‘nebulous’

The federal Ethics Commissioner's guidelines for exempt Cabinet ministerial staffers laying out rules on the propriety of accepting such hospitality as lunch, dinner or a hockey ticket are "nebulous," some staffers say, who want to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.According to the Ethics Commissioner's Office, guidelines for Public Office Holders which include Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary secretaries and exempt ministerial staffers, gifts, hospitality or other benefits "that could influence public office holders in their judgment and in the performance of official duties and responsibilities, shall be declined."And any gifts, hospitality or benefits worth over $200 have to be disclosed to the Ethics Commissioner's Office. These guidelines further say that "where there is doubt as to the appropriateness of accepting an offer of a gift, hospitality or other benefit, irrespective of its value, public office holders must consult the Ethics Commissioner and obtain his or her approval to accept the offer."These guidelines, senior exempt staffers say, are not specific enough."These are nebulous things. I mean what happens if you and I are old friends and you make more money than I do and you have a box, and I come to work in this Office and you say, 'Come on, let's go watch the game, what do I do,' "said a senior ministerial aide."What's happening, I think, is that the chiefs of staff each in their own way and depending on their staff and the desires of the minister are all coming into play and there are different rules for different offices."Due to this reason, some Cabinet ministers' chiefs of staff have adopted different approaches to the rules."They are not allowed to accept any hospitality, that's the rule that the Minister and I agreed on," Geoffrey Dean, chief of staff to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.) told The Hill Times.Emma Welford, director of communications to Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.), told The Hill Times that the exempt staffers in her office use discretion when it comes to accepting hospitality, adding that their office does not have any rule that will prohibit staffers from accepting any hospitality."We try not to but there's obviously some discretion. If you want to do something, you go pay for it. If you accept something over $200, you have to declare it and under $200, it's up to the discretion of the staffers but it's discouraged," she said.Jean-Sébastien Rioux, chief of staff to Minister of Indian Affairs Jim Prentice (Calgary Centre-North, Alta.), told The Hill Times that he has not categorically forbidden his staff from receiving any hospitality at all but has advised them to be careful."I've never received any hospitality and I have indicated to staff that I lead by example that they should use their judgment but they are accountable and as far as I know, they've been good people," said Mr. Rioux in an interview.The federal Ethics Commissioner's guidelines for exempt Cabinet ministerial staffers laying out rules on the propriety of accepting such hospitality as lunch, dinner or a hockey ticket are "nebulous," some staffers say, who want to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.According to the Ethics Commissioner's Office, guidelines for Public Office Holders which include Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary secretaries and exempt ministerial staffers, gifts, hospitality or other benefits "that could influence public office holders in their judgment and in the performance of official duties and responsibilities, shall be declined."And any gifts, hospitality or benefits worth over $200 have to be disclosed to the Ethics Commissioner's Office. These guidelines further say that "where there is doubt as to the appropriateness of accepting an offer of a gift, hospitality or other benefit, irrespective of its value, public office holders must consult the Ethics Commissioner and obtain his or her approval to accept the offer."These guidelines, senior exempt staffers say, are not specific enough."These are nebulous things. I mean what happens if you and I are old friends and you make more money than I do and you have a box, and I come to work in this Office and you say, 'Come on, let's go watch the game, what do I do,' "said a senior ministerial aide."What's happening, I think, is that the chiefs of staff each in their own way and depending on their staff and the desires of the minister are all coming into play and there are different rules for different offices."Due to this reason, some Cabinet ministers' chiefs of staff have adopted different approaches to the rules."They are not allowed to accept any hospitality, that's the rule that the Minister and I agreed on," Geoffrey Dean, chief of staff to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.) told The Hill Times.Emma Welford, director of communications to Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.), told The Hill Times that the exempt staffers in her office use discretion when it comes to accepting hospitality, adding that their office does not have any rule that will prohibit staffers from accepting any hospitality."We try not to but there's obviously some discretion. If you want to do something, you go pay for it. If you accept something over $200, you have to declare it and under $200, it's up to the discretion of the staffers but it's discouraged," she said.Jean-Sébastien Rioux, chief of staff to Minister of Indian Affairs Jim Prentice (Calgary Centre-North, Alta.), told The Hill Times that he has not categorically forbidden his staff from receiving any hospitality at all but has advised them to be careful."I've never received any hospitality and I have indicated to staff that I lead by example that they should use their judgment but they are accountable and as far as I know, they've been good people," said Mr. Rioux in an interview."To use their judgment in the sense that there's going to be a lot of people wanting to talk to them that there are the ethics rules that they have to abide by. They also have to make sure that the people they meet are legitimate so we are just trying to run a good, clean operation making sure that the right people who have legitimate business can talk to us. Some people have legitimate reasons to contact us and we just have to utilize our judgment and if there's any doubt, then my door's open and we can look at who is asking for a meeting and why and things of that nature."Mr. Rioux said that he has told his staff that the Conservative government has to keep its campaign promise of changing the way government business is done in Ottawa."I've been more of, use your judgment, but if I find out that you're hanging out at Hy's or something then I'm going to probably have a chat with you and figure out why are you're eating six meals a week at Hy's and what business is so important that it can't be done over a cup of coffee somewhere.... We must be true to our campaign promises to run a good, clean and accountable government and business can be conducted over a cup of coffee and it doesn't have to be on a $199 meal. I haven't said no hospitality but I have encouraged them to develop more modest taste in meals."Last week, Chief Government Whip Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.) made newspaper headlines when The Ottawa Citizen reported that he attended an Ottawa Senators' hockey game as a guest of Bell Canada. Mr. Hill defended himself, saying he didn't break any rule by attending the game as he checked with the Ethics Commissioner's Office first before attending. He said the total cost of attending the event was less than $500 which did not require him as an MP to report this to the Ethics Commissioner.The Globe and Mail also reported last week on how the new Federal Accountability Act's measures are creating a chill towards accepting hospitality in political Ottawa, noting that not one Cabinet minister showed up at the Public Policy Forum's annual testimonial dinner in Toronto last month, after Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch made it clear that deputy ministers must no longer accept free tickets from corporate sponsors and would have to pay for the $375 ticket.Meanwhile, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre (Nepean-Carleton, Ont.) who is also Parliamentary Secretary to Treasury Board President John Baird (Ottawa West- Nepean, Ont.) said that the Ethics Commissioner guidelines are clear and do not need to be more specific. He added that if there's a confusion in any office holder's mind, they could contact the Ethics Commissioner's Office."Generally speaking, these rules are pretty clear. If people have any confusion or any concerns, they can contact the Ethics Commissioner's office or call his office for clarification."

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