As of October 4, all newly elected MLAs are being required to provide full disclosure of their assets, liabilities, and income to Manitoba’s Ethics Commissioner no later than 90 days after taking office.
This rule falls under The Conflict of Interest (Members and Ministers) Act and is administered by the Ethics Commissioner, a non-partisan officer.
MLAs and cabinet ministers are required to disclose all assets, liabilities, and sources of income with a value over $5,000. This rule also extends to their spouse’s and dependant’s assets, liabilities, and income, subject to some exceptions.
Property held in trust must be disclosed, as well as contracts held with the government, any legal proceedings against them, and any unpaid support payments.
If the MLA owns a private corporation, details must be provided including a statement of its activities and sources of income, the names and addresses of any other people with an interest in it and all real property owned by it.
Once the disclosure statement has been received and accepted by the Ethics Commissioner, details will be posted to Ethics Manitoba’s new website. On this site, members will be able to search for disclosure statements filed by individual MLAs.
Throughout the year, members are expected to keep their disclosure statements up to date by reporting anything new, such as gifts received or travel taken on private aircraft.
“A member is in a conflict of interest when the member exercises an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further their private interests or those of their family or to improperly further another person's private interests,” states the Conflict of Interest Act. “In other words, a conflict of interest exists if there is an opportunity for a member to prefer a private interest over the public interest.”
Allegations of contravention of the Act must be formally made to the Commissioner who may choose to open an investigation. The Commissioner possesses broad powers, similar to that of a judge, allowing them to compel testimony or demand that documents be produced.
Results of the investigation are presented to the Speaker of the House along with recommendations from the Commissioner. The Speaker may table the report on a day when the Assembly is sitting or distribute copies of the report to all members.
If fault is determined, penalties for the MLA under investigation may include anything from a simple reprimand to a fine not exceeding $50,000. The member may be suspended from voting for a period of time or their seat may be declared vacant.
