Marginal note:Access

• 28. (1) If the Commissioner so requests, chief executives and public servants must provide him or her, or the person conducting an investigation, with any facilities, assistance, information and access to their respective offices that the Commissioner may require for the carrying out of his or her duties under this Act.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) Subsection (1) applies despite any restriction created by or under any other Act of Parliament on the disclosure of information.

Marginal note:Powers

• 29. (1) In conducting any investigation under this Act, the Commissioner has all the powers of a commissioner under Part II of the Inquiries Act.

• Marginal note:Subpoenas, etc., and right to be represented

  (2) Whenever the Commissioner issues a subpoena or other request or summons to a person in the exercise of any powers referred to in subsection (1), he or she must allow that person to be assisted or represented by counsel, or by any person.

• Marginal note:Notice before entering premises

  (3) Before entering the premises of any portion of the public sector in the exercise of any powers under subsection (1), the Commissioner must notify the chief executive of that portion of the public sector.

Marginal note:Exception

• 30. (1) Sections 28 and 29 do not apply in respect of a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in respect of which subsection 39(1) of the Canada Evidence Act applies or information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege. The Commissioner may not use the confidence or information if it is nevertheless received under section 28 or 29.

• Marginal note:Canada Evidence Act

  (2) Nothing in this Act is to be construed as limiting the application of the Canada Evidence Act to investigations conducted by the Commissioner.

Marginal note:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

31. With respect to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in making a request referred to in section 28 or in exercising the powers in section 29, the Commissioner must consider whether doing so will unduly disrupt the gathering and dissemination of news and information by the Corporation.

Marginal note:Self-incrimination

32. No public servant shall be excused from cooperating with the Commissioner, or with a person conducting an investigation, on the grounds that any information given by the public servant may tend to incriminate the public servant or subject him or her to any proceeding or penalty, but the information, or any evidence derived from it, may not be used or received to incriminate the public servant in any criminal proceeding against him or her, other than a prosecution under section 132 or 136 of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Power to investigate other wrongdoings

• 33. (1) If, during the course of an investigation or as a result of any information provided to the Commissioner by a person who is not a public servant, the Commissioner has reason to believe that another wrongdoing, or a wrongdoing, as the case may be, has been committed, he or she may, subject to sections 23 and 24, commence an investigation into the wrongdoing if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that the public interest requires an investigation. The provisions of this Act applicable to investigations commenced as the result of a disclosure apply to investigations commenced under this section.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Commissioner may not, in the course of an investigation commenced under subsection (1), use a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in respect of which subsection 39(1) of the Canada Evidence Act applies, or information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, if the confidence or information is disclosed to the Commissioner.

Marginal note:Information outside public sector

34. If the Commissioner is of the opinion that a matter under investigation would involve obtaining information that is outside the public sector, he or she must cease that part of the investigation and he or she may refer the matter to any authority that he or she considers competent to deal with it.

Marginal note:Remittal of information

• 35. (1) If the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to suspect that information obtained in the course of an investigation may be used in the investigation or prosecution of an alleged contravention of any Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, he or she may, in addition to or in lieu of continuing the investigation, remit the information, at that point in time, to a peace officer having jurisdiction to investigate the alleged contravention or to the Attorney General of Canada.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (1.1) If the information relates to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Commissioner may remit the information only to the Attorney General of Canada.

• Marginal note:No further remittal of information

  (2) To maintain the separation of investigations carried out under this Act and those carried out for law enforcement purposes, after information has been remitted under subsection (1) in relation to any matter, the Commissioner may not — except in accordance with a prior judicial authorization — remit to any peace officer or to the Attorney General of Canada any further information in relation to that matter that the Commissioner obtains in the course of his or her investigation into that matter and in respect of which there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

REPORTS

Marginal note:Request for notice of action

36. In making a report to a chief executive in respect of an investigation under this Act, the Commissioner may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, request that the chief executive provide the Commissioner, within a time specified in the report, with notice of any action taken or proposed to be taken to implement the recommendations contained in the report or reasons why no such action has been or is proposed to be taken.

Marginal note:Report to appropriate Minister or governing council

37. If the Commissioner considers it necessary, he or she may report a matter to the Minister responsible for the portion of the public sector concerned or, if the matter relates to a Crown corporation, to its board or governing council, including, but not limited to, when the Commissioner is of the opinion that

• (a) action has not been taken within a reasonable time in respect of one of his or her recommendations; and

• (b) a situation that has come to his or her attention in the course of carrying out his or her duties exists that constitutes an imminent risk of a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment.

Marginal note:Preparation of report

• 38. (1) Within three months after the end of each financial year, the Commissioner must prepare and submit to Parliament an annual report in respect of the activities of the Commissioner during that financial year.

• Marginal note:Content

  (2) The annual report must set out

  • (a) the number of general inquiries relating to this Act;

  • (b) the number of disclosures received and the number of those that were acted on and those that were not acted on;

  • (c) the number of investigations commenced under this Act;

  • (d) the number of recommendations that the Commissioner has made and their status;

  • (e) whether there are any systemic problems that give rise to wrongdoings;

  • (f) any recommendations for improvement that the Commissioner considers appropriate; and

  • (g) any other matter that the Commissioner considers necessary.

• Marginal note:Special reports

  (3) The Commissioner may, at any time, make a special report to Parliament referring to and commenting on any matter within the scope of his or her powers and duties under this Act if, in his or her opinion, the matter is of such urgency or importance that a report on it should not be deferred until the time provided for transmission of the annual report.

• Marginal note:Transmission of reports

  (4) Every report to Parliament made by the Commissioner shall be made by being transmitted to the Speaker of the Senate, and to the Speaker of the House of Commons, for tabling in those Houses.

• Marginal note:Reference to committee

  (5) After it is transmitted for tabling, every report of the Commissioner stands referred to the committee of the Senate, the House of Commons or both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing the Commissioner’s reports.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER

Public Sector Integrity Commissioner

Marginal note:Appointment

• 39. (1) The Governor in Council shall, by commission under the Great Seal, appoint a Public Sector Integrity Commissioner after approval of the appointment by resolution of the Senate and House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Tenure of office and removal

  (2) Subject to this section, the Commissioner holds office during good behaviour for a term of seven years, but may be removed by the Governor in Council at any time on address of the Senate and House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Re-appointment

  (3) The Commissioner is eligible to be re-appointed for a further term of not more than seven years.

• Marginal note:Absence or incapacity

  (4) In the event of the absence or incapacity of the Commissioner, or if the office of Commissioner is vacant, the Governor in Council may appoint another qualified person to hold office instead of the Commissioner for a term of not more than six months, and that person shall, while holding that office, have all of the powers, duties and functions of the Commissioner under this or any other Act of Parliament and be paid the salary or other remuneration and expenses that may be fixed by the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Rank and powers

• 39.1 (1) The Commissioner has the rank, and all the powers, of a deputy head of a department.

• Marginal note:Restriction on other employment or activities

  (2) The Commissioner shall not hold any other office or employment in the public sector or carry on any activity that is inconsistent with his or her powers and duties.

Marginal note:Remuneration

• 39.2 (1) The Commissioner is to be paid the remuneration determined by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Expenses

  (2) The Commissioner is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in the course of his or her duties while absent from his or her ordinary place of work if he or she has been appointed to serve on a full-time basis or his or her ordinary place of residence if he or she has been appointed to serve on a part-time basis.

• Marginal note:Application of Public Service Superannuation Act

  (3) The Commissioner is deemed to be employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

• Marginal note:Application of other Acts

  (4) The Commissioner is deemed to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.