Dawson on her final days as nation’s ethics czar
Defends her record on her final day in office
OTTAWA • Canada’s outgoing ethics commissioner says she just about killed herself to finish and publish a report on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ethical violations before her term ended.
Speaking with the Post on Monday, her last day in the office, Mary Dawson said the weeks leading up to the report — in which Dawson found Trudeau contravened two ethics laws — included a lot of overtime. “I’ll need to sleep for a week or two,” she joked.
Dawson also expressed frustration that she didn’t have enough time to complete an ongoing investigation into Finance Minister Bill Morneau, which is still “hanging open.”
In letter she sent to Morneau Friday, Dawson cleared him of any wrongdoing with regards to the sale of shares from his family pension firm, Morneau Shepell Inc., and the renewal of a government contract with the firm — issues flagged by both the Conservatives and New Democrats. Her investigation into whether the minister broke rules by introducing pension legislation while retaining shares in the company is ongoing, however.
“I like to finish whatever I start,” she said, adding she doesn’t know yet whether incoming commissioner Mario Dion appears poised to keep the Morneau file open. “If I felt strongly enough to start an investigation on something, I think it should probably be carried through, from my point of view.”
With regards to Morneau’s choice not to place his shares in a blind trust, Dawson said she stands by the advice she originally gave him — that it was not required under the law.
Dawson said she didn’t find out until quite recently she would not be given a fourth six-month extension to her mandate as ethics commissioner; that, plus the three previous short-term extensions, made it difficult for her office to plan for the long term, she said. “It just took too long . ... I don’t know what happened, frankly.”
Over her decade in the job, Dawson’s hands were often tied by the legislation that govern her work (the Conflict of Interest Act and a separate code of conduct for MPs), she said. There were “lots of times” during her tenure that behaviour was technically allowed under the law but didn’t pass an ethical sniff test, Dawson said — situations where she told people, “you might’ve not done that, if you’d thought of it.”
Criticisms that she let too many politicians off scotfree were “unwarranted,” she said. “There are some activists that want to push further, but I’m following the law . ... I feel that I make the proper decisions, and I feel confident in myself that I’ve done a good job.”
Dawson has made dozens and dozens of recommendations for improvements to legislation. Priorities include adding reporting requirements for officials after they leave office, fixing unclear wording in the act, introducing a conflict-of-interest
IT’S NOT A HORRIBLE PIECE OF LEGISLATION, AT ALL, BY ANY STRETCH.
test for sponsored travel and adding flexibility in rules around outside work.
Still, she doesn’t think the act is bad. “You know, it’s not a horrible piece of legislation, at all, by any stretch,” she said. “It’s not urgent, urgent. It’s just very desirable to make a few changes.”
Moreover, she said there aren’t that many serious cases of bad behaviour. “It’s not murder cases. And it’s not enormous fraud cases,” she said. “These cases are ethical breaches, but ... while important, and important for our system that they don’t happen, they’re not earth-shaking.”
She said the fact offences are made public, and others become aware of how not to behave, is enough. “I’m not a big believer in imprisonment or penalties for these offences,” she said.
Dawson will testify Wednesday in front of a House of Commons committee about her report on Trudeau. She said she wasn’t sure what MPs would ask her, and she won’t be able to say anything that isn’t in the report.