New Conflict of Interest Act in New Brunswick.

• Author: Stratton, Stuart G.

In 1978, the New Brunswick Government enacted one of the first Conflict of Interest Acts in Canada. The purpose of that Act was to assist legislative members, and others, to avoid an actual or apparent conflict of interest. In addition to Members of the Legislature and Cabinet Ministers, the Act applied as well to Deputy Ministers, executive staff members and heads of Crown Corporations. That Act required all of these people to make full disclosure of assets and liabilities by filing a sworn declaration with a designated Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench. In March 1999, following a review by the Legislative Administration Committee, a new Members' Conflict of Interest Act was adopted. This article is a slightly edited version of the first Bulletin of the new Commissioner appointed under that Act. The article was sent to all members of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in May 2000 and is available on the web site of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly.

In response to what has been described as an unprecedented level of cynicism and lack of trust in politicians, revisions have been made to most of the Conflict of Interest Acts in Canada in an effort to put into place a regime that will better avoid conflict of interest situations. Several of the revised acts, like the one in New Brunswick, now have application to Members only and provide for the appointment of an independent Commissioner from outside government or the courts (in some instances referred to as Ethics Commissioners) to administer the Act.

The events leading up to the enactment of the new Members' Conflict of Interest Act are of some interest. In 1997, the Government of New Brunswick retained the Honourable William L.M. Creaghan, a retired Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, to review comparable conflict legislation in other provinces and to consult with those affected by the provisions of our legislation. In June of 1997, Justice Creaghan produced a report entitled "Review and Recommendations of William L.M. Creaghan on the New Brunswick Conflict of Interest Act."

Following receipt of Justice Creaghan's Report, the Legislative Assembly referred the report to the Legislative Administration Committee. After a year of meetings and discussions, that Committee produced a report of its own dated December 18, 1998, which recommended that a new Conflict of Interest Act be enacted. Following receipt of this latter report, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick enacted the Members' Conflict of Interest Act on March 12,1999. The Act has since been proclaimed to be in effect as of May 1, 2000.

When introducing the new Members' Conflict of Interest Act in the New Brunswick Legislature on March 9, 1999 the then Minister of Justice said:

"The proposed new Members' Conflict of Interest Act provides a set of guidelines to govern the conduct of Members of the Legislative Assembly in conflict of interest situations. Processes related to compliance with the standards include the appointment of a Conflict of Interest Commissioner, the provision of advice by the Commissioner, private disclosure statements, and...