Parliament watchdogs push back on proposed staff disclosure rules

Bill C-520 would require certain civil servants to detail political affiliations they've had in recent years--or any they're planning on having in future. And while the bill is inching closer to law, there are many who argue this is an unneeded privacy violation.

The measures in the bill would serve to help avoid potential conflict that may arise between partisan activities and the official duties of any person working for the office of an agent of parliament.- Conservative MP Mark Adler

The bill would affect public servants working in Parliament, at agencies such as the Auditor General and Chief Electoral Officer.

If passed, staff there would be required to make an official account of any political positions they've held in the past decade. The same would be required of anyone applying for one of these jobs.

To find out more about the proposed legislation, we were joined by:

• Jennifer Ditchburn is a senior parliamentary correspondent for the Canadian Press.
• Suzanne Legault is the Information Commissioner of Canada.
• Duff Conacher is the co-founder of Democracy Watch.

We reached out to Mr. Adler to discuss Bill C-520. We also asked the Prime Minister's Office, and the Conservative Party of Canada. No one was available to come on the program.

Mr. Adler did send a statement, that reads, in part:

While the Agents of Parliament are currently held to a standard of non-partisanship by the Public Service Employment Act, their employees, who may be delegated any of the Agent's responsibilities, are not. The aim of my Bill is to address and close this gap....My bill also works in harmony with the current Public Service Employment Act. The PSEA guarantees the right of any public servant to participate in political activity, so long as it does not impair their ability to perform duties in a politically impartial manner, and my Bill does not challenge this right.

What are your thoughts on Bill C-520?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Ines Colabrese, Shannon Higgins and Sujata Berry.