Other Responsibilities of Integrity Commissioner

The statutory role of the Integrity Commissioner is described earlier in the section entitled “About the Integrity Commissioner”, in particular, to assist the MLAs in remaining in compliance with the Act, and also to investigate any alleged contraventions of the Act.

The Integrity Commissioner is required to perform other duties as assigned by the Legislative Assembly in any other statute -- and the Legislative Assembly has done so in Part IX of the Nunavut Elections Act, described below. In addition, the Management and Services Board of the Legislative Assembly has requested that the Integrity Commissioner take on three other assignments, in relation to three groups of public servants – Deputy Ministers, Ministerial staff, and independent officers of the Legislative Assembly.

Deputy Ministers: The employment contract of a Deputy Head of a Government of Nunavut department or one of its public agencies requires the Deputy Head to disclose, in a prescribed form, the assets, debts, business interests, sources of income, etc. of the Deputy Minister, his or her family and his or her private company. The disclosure report is confidential and is filed with the Secretary of the Senior Personnel Secretariat within 30 days of signing the employment contract.

The Management and Services Board, at the request of the Premier, has assigned to the Integrity Commissioner the responsibility to review and assess these disclosure reports and to report his findings directly to the Premier, in confidence.

The Deputy Minister is to file a Confidential Disclosure Report annually on a date set by the Integrity Commissioner. If there is a change of circumstances that significantly alters the information required in a filed Confidential Disclosure Report, the Deputy Minister is required to file an amended report within 30 days of the change.

Personal staff of Minister: In order to avoid any conflict of interest, real or perceived, each Executive Assistant and Executive Secretary is required by his or her contract to disclose personal holdings, business activities, volunteer or community activities, etc., in confidence to the Integrity Commissioner, to seek advice from the Integrity Commissioner and to follow any advice given by the Integrity Commissioner to resolve the real or perceived conflict of interest.

Independent Officers of Legislative Assembly: The Management and Services Board requires the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and certain independent officers of the Legislative Assembly, namely the Languages Commissioner, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Representative for Children and Youth, and Chief Electoral Officer, to submit confidential disclosure statements (with respect to assets, liabilities, sources of income, GN contracts and outside activities) to the Integrity Commissioner for his review. This determination was made by the Management and Services Board with the goal of enhancing transparency and consistency at the most senior level of government.
The Management and Services Board directed that the Integrity Commissioner conduct a review and assessment of each such disclosure statement and report any finding of concern to the Management and Services Board, in confidence.

These disclosure statements are to be submitted annually on a date set by the Integrity Commissioner.

Nunavut Elections Act

The Elections Act establishes an electoral system for the election of the members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. It establishes rules governing elections, and creates offences relating to illegal activities and breaches of the election rules. A summary conviction offence under the Elections Act normally is punishable in court by a fine or imprisonment, or both. In the “Enforcement” part of the Elections Act, the Act establishes a diversion process whereby an alleged offender can avoid a formal prosecution in Court. This is done by entering into a Compliance Agreement with the Integrity Commissioner. A Compliance Agreement is an agreement whereby an alleged offender agrees, in exchange for the stay of prosecution of the offence, to one or more conditions, e.g.:

• to accept responsibility for the offence
• to make a public apology
• to do or refrain from doing any action relating to the offence
• to pay a sum of money to the GN, or
• to perform community service

Entering into a Compliance Agreement is voluntary and without prejudice to the position of the alleged offender.

The involvement of the Integrity Commissioner in negotiating a Compliance Agreement commences when the police advise the Integrity Commissioner of any case where, in the course of an investigation, the police have reasonable and probable grounds for believing that an individual has committed an offence under the Elections Act.

After considering all of the relevant circumstances, the Integrity Commissioner may offer a Compliance Agreement to the alleged offender. The fact of a Compliance Agreement having been signed, and the subsequent compliance or non-compliance with the conditions of the Compliance Agreement, is published by the Integrity Commissioner. In the past, such publication has occurred via community newspaper, the Nunavut Gazette and/or the website of the Integrity Commissioner.