View source for Federal Accountability Act

{{Short description|Canadian act of Parliament}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=May 2012}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox legislation
| short_title        = ''Federal Accountability Act''
| legislature        = [[Parliament of Canada]]
| image               = Royal Coat of arms of Canada.svg
| imagesize           = 130px 
| imagelink          = 
| imagealt           = 
| caption            = 
| long_title         = ''An Act providing for conflict of interest rules, restrictions on election financing and measures respecting administrative transparency, oversight and accountability''
| citation           = Statues of Canada 2006 chapter 9<ref>[https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-5.5/index.html S.C. 2006. c. 9]</ref>
| territorial_extent = [[Canada]]
| enacted_by         = [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]
| date_enacted       = 
| enacted_by2        = [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]
| date_enacted2      = 
| royal_assent       = December 12, 2006
| date_commenced     = 
| bill               = 39th Parliament, Bill C-2
| bill_citation      = 
| bill_date          = 
| introduced_by      = [[John Baird (Canadian politician)|John Baird]], [[President of the Treasury Board]]
| 1st_reading        = April 11, 2006
| 2nd_reading        = April 27, 2006
| 3rd_reading        = June 21, 2006
| bill2              = 39th Parliament, Bill C-2
| bill_citation2     = 
| bill_date2         = 
| introduced_by2     = 
| 1st_reading2       = June 22, 2006
| 2nd_reading2       = June 27, 2006
| 3rd_reading2       = November 9, 2006
| white_paper        = 
| committee_report   = 
| amends             = ''[[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 (Canada)|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 1985|Income Tax Act]]'', ''[[Library and Archives of Canada Act]]'', ''[[Lobbying Act (Canada)|Lobbying Act (Lobbyists Registration Act)]]'', ''[[Museums Act]]'', ''[[National Arts Centre Act]]'', ''[[National Capital Act]]'', ''[[Non-smokers' Health Act]]'', ''[[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]]'', [[Parliament of Canada Act]]'', ''[[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act]]'', ''[[Pilotage Act]]'', ''[[Privacy Act (Canada)|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]]''
| repeals            = 
| related            = 
| summary            = 
| keywords           = 
}}
The '''''Federal Accountability Act''''' ("FedAA":<ref>[[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]], [https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Best%20Practices/Canada%20Best%20Practices%20to%20Fight%20Corruption.pdf "Best Practices to Fight Corruption" - Canada: Selected Programs], published November 2007, accessed September 9, 2024</ref> {{langx|fr|Loi fédérale sur la responsabilité}}) 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 (Canada)|President of the Treasury Board]], [[John Baird (Canadian politician)|John Baird]].  The aim was 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 whistleblowers; and enhancing the power of the [[Auditor General of Canada|Auditor General]] to follow the money spent by the [[Government of Canada|government]].

The bill aimed to increase the [[transparency in government|transparency]] of [[government spending]], and to establish clearer links between approved expenditures and their outcomes. The bill was passed by the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] on June 22, 2006, by the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] on November 9, 2006, and was granted [[royal assent]] on December 12, 2006.

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

;Auditing and accountability within departments
*One of the biggest changes, recommended by the [[Gomery Commission]], was that deputy ministers became "accounting officers", reporting directly to Parliament (thereby bypassing their ministers) on the financial administration of their respective departments.
*A mechanism to resolve disputes between ministers and deputy ministers, and to document such resolutions, was also created.

;Independent Oversight Offices
A number of new independent oversight offices were created, reporting directly to Parliament on the administration of the government.
*The [[Commissioner of Lobbying]] replaced the Registrar of Lobbyists as a fully independent office with greater investigative powers.
*The [[Parliamentary Budget Officer]] provides Parliament with objective analysis about government estimates, the state of the nation's finances, and trends in the national economy.
*The [[Public Sector Integrity Commissioner]] promotes whistleblowing and protects whistleblowers from negative repercussions in the workplace.
*The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman reviews and investigates complaints against [[government procurement#Canada|government procurement]] practices.
*The [[Ethics Commissioner (Canada)|Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner]] administers the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.

;New limits on individual donations to parties and candidates
*Prohibition of gifts or other benefits to a candidate for political office that influences or appears to influence the performance of that office if elected.
*Individual political contributions limited to $1,100 to different aspects of a single political organization: $1,100 to a registered party; $1,100 to a registered party's candidates, nomination contestants, and constituency associations, collectively; and $1,100 to leadership contestants collectively.
*Corporations, unions and organizations were banned from contributing to parties and candidates.
*Candidates must report all gifts over $500 to the Chief Electoral Officer.

;Lobbying
*Senior public officials prohibited from engaging in lobbying for 5 years after their employment has ceased.

;Public Appointments Commission
*Proposed creation of a Public Appointments Commission to develop guidelines, review and approve the selection processes proposed by Ministers to fill vacancies within their portfolios, and report publicly on the Government's compliance with the guidelines. However, no such commission has yet been created.

;Access to information
*Increased scope of the ''Access to Information Act'', to cover a number of Crown Corporations, which can now be called upon by the public to disclose their records.

;Independent Prosecution
*The [[Director of public prosecutions#Canada|Public Prosecution Service of Canada]] was made independent of the rest of the Department of Justice, although the Director of Public Prosecutions still reports to the Minister of Justice.

==History==

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

The development of the Act 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".

==Amended legislation==

The ''Federal Accountability Act'' is an omnibus legislation - one that amends a number of other statutes. It amended the following: 
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''[[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 (Canada)|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 1985|Income Tax Act]]''
* ''[[Library and Archives of Canada Act]]''
* ''[[Lobbying Act (Canada)|Lobbying Act (Lobbyists Registration Act)]]''
* ''[[Museums Act]]''
* ''[[National Arts Centre Act]]''
* ''[[National Capital Act]]''
* ''[[Non-smokers' Health Act]]''
* ''[[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]]''
* ''[[Parliament of Canada Act]]''
* ''[[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act]]''
* ''[[Pilotage Act]]''
* ''[[Privacy Act (Canada)|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]]''
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/39-1/bill/C-2/royal-assent/page-4 Full text of bill]
* [https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/391LS522E Legislative Summary]
* [http://www.faa-lfi.gc.ca/index-eng.asp Government of Canada's website on the Federal FedAA]
* [http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsDec1710.html Democracy Watch's Report Card on the Federal Accountability Act]

{{Harper Government}}

[[Category:Canadian federal legislation]]
[[Category:2006 in Canadian law]]
[[Category:Pierre Poilievre]]