Federal Accountability Act

Federal Accountability Act
An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability
Citation	S.C. 2006. c. 9
Enacted by	Parliament of Canada
Date assented to	December 12, 2006
Date commenced	Coming into Force details
Legislative history
Bill	39th Parliament, Bill C-2
Introduced by	John Baird, President of the Treasury Board
First reading	House: April 11, 2006, Senate: June 22, 2006
Second reading	House: April 27, 2006, Senate: June 27, 2006
Third reading	House: June 21, 2006, Senate: November 9, 2006
Committee report	Federal Accountability Action Plan
Amendments
Access to Information Act, Auditor General Act, Business Development Bank of Canada Act, Canada Council for the Arts Act, Canada Elections Act, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporations Act, Canada Post Corporation Act, Canada Revenue Agency Act, Canadian Commercial Corporation Act, Canadian Dairy Commission Act, Canadian Race Relations Foundation Act, Canadian Tourism Commission Act, Canadian Wheat Board Act, Cape Breton Development Corporation Act, Conflict of Interest Act, Criminal Code, Department of Justice Act, Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, Director of Public Prosecutions Act, Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Act, Export Development Act, Farm Credit Canada Act, Federal Courts Act, Financial Administration Act, First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, Freshwater Fish Marketing Act, Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act, Government Employees Compensation Act, Income Tax Act, Library and Archives of Canada Act, Lobbyists Registration Act, Museums Act, National Arts Centre Act, National Capital Act, Non-smokers’ Health Act, Official Languages Act, Parliament of Canada Act, Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, Pilotage Act, Privacy Act, Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act, Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, Public Service Employment Act, Public Service Superannuation Act, Radiocommunication Act, Royal Canadian Mint Act, Salaries Act, Standards Council of Canada Act
Repealing legislation
Repeals

The Federal Accountability Act (full title: "An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability", here in this article shorthanded to FedAA) is a statute introduced as Bill C-2 in the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament on April 11, 2006, by the President of the Treasury Board, John Baird. The plan aims to reduce the opportunity to exert influence with money by banning corporate, union, and large personal political donations; five-year lobbying ban on former ministers, their aides, and senior public servants; providing protection for whistle blowers; and enhancing the power for the Auditor General to follow the money spent by the government.

Notably, the bill comes at a time when the significance of political advocacy groups in electoral campaigns is increasing in Canada. The act limits and reveals the funding of political parties, but is blind to possible undue monetary influence on government policy by advocacy groups. Notable examples are the National Citizens Coalition, the Council of Canadians, and Ontarians For Responsible Government.

The bill (now a law) also aims to increase transparency of government spending, and establish clearer links between approved expenditures and their outcomes. (Previous legislation required linkage between expenditures and 'purpose', rather than outcomes.)

The bill was passed by the House of Commons on June 22, 2006, by the Senate on November 9, 2006, and was granted royal assent on December 12, 2006.

The following are some of the major changes instituted by the Federal Accountability Act:

A number of new independent were created, reporting directly to Parliament on the administration of the government.

The Federal Accountability Act was the first bill to be tabled by the newly elected Conservative Government. It took about 9 months to pass and was significantly amended in the Senate.

The development of the FedAA was informed by the Conservative Party election platform for the January 2006 election and by Phase 2 of the Gomery Report (Recommendations).

When delivering his sponsor's speech in Parliament, John Baird described it as the "toughest anti-corruption law ever passed in Canada," although this description is disputable.

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