Carney vacation raises ethical issues
Tories refuse to be drawn into controversy over bank governor
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s stay with a Liberal MP and the party’s interest in recruiting him have exposed the challenges and expectations facing public office holders — but also the ambiguity around how ethical standards are applied.
Some former federally appointed officials say personal relationships can’t be abandoned, while others believe an ethics investigation should be launched into the bank governor’s actions.
Senior public office holders appointed by the federal cabinet are required to abide by a long list of ethical guidelines and standards of conduct, included in the Conflict of Interest Act and in rules set out for so-called governor-in-council appointments made by cabinet. The Bank of Canada has its own conflict of interest policy.
Carney’s case raises a wider question, regardless of the written standards or guidelines, as to how far senior officials — who are expected by the public to be politically neutral — must go to safeguard their reputation and the overall standing of their offices.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Wednesday said he has chatted with Carney about the recent revelations, but would not comment on whether the bank’s ethical guidelines should be updated.
“I’ll let the governor respond, if he chooses, to questions about conflicts at the Bank of Canada,” Flaherty told reporters Wednesday.
Questioned on whether there’s a need for government agencies to have an independent third-party review potential internal conflicts of interest, the minister said MPs have a “rigid regime” to follow, but wouldn’t comment on federal entities outside Parliament.
Despite reported Liberal entreaties, the Bank of Canada insists Carney — who will take over as the new governor of the Bank of England in July — did not contemplate jumping into politics. The central bank has confirmed, however, that Carney and his family stayed at Liberal finance critic Scott Brison’s vacation home during their summer holidays in Nova Scotia.
The Bank of Canada’s general counsel, who is responsible for enforcing the bank’s conflict of interest policy, has determined Carney’s visit did not breach conflict of interest guidelines in any way.
The federal government has a set of “Ethical and Political Activity Guidelines for Public Office Holders” that applies to appointments made by cabinet, including officers of Parliament such as the federal auditor general, chief electoral officer, ethics commissioner and lobbying commissioner, to name a few.
Those guidelines and Conflict of Interest Act don’t apply to Carney in his role as the governor of the Bank of Canada, who is technically appointed by the central bank’s board of directors but approved by cabinet.
The bank has its own conflict of interest guidelines saying employees must never “solicit gifts, hospital- ity, or other benefits in connection with their bank duties.” However, the bank says Carney’s acceptance of hospitality at Brison’s house relates to his own personal life, not in connection with his bank duties.
The government’s ethics rules for other public office holders specifically encourage appointees to be careful in how they manage their private affairs.
Appointees are required to refrain from a long list of political activities, including: contributing money to or being a member of a political party; seeking nomination to run as a candidate; attending partisan or social events sponsored by one particular political party; and expressing partisan views in a public setting.
However, under the rules, political activities that public office holders must refrain from do not include “expressing partisan views in a private setting.”
Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada’s chief electoral officer from 1990 to 2007, said he doesn’t see an issue with Carney having vacationed with an MP who’s a longtime friend.
“You just cannot forsake friendships because you’re occupying an office at a moment in time,” Kingsley said Wednesday in an interview.
However, every senior public office position is different, Kingsley said, and the person’s working relationship with political parties can dictate the ethical expectations in the personal sphere.
Kingsley, whose job was to regulate political parties, said he kept relationships to a professional level and that he didn’t have any friends in the political sphere, which made it easier to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.