Bill S-239 explained in plain English
Act to amend the Conflict of Interest Act (gifts)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-239 amends the Conflict of Interest Act to modify rules around public office holders accepting and reporting gifts from sources other than relatives and friends.
This bill proposes changes to the Conflict of Interest Act. It aims to limit the situations where public office holders and their families can accept gifts. It also seeks to increase the instances where these individuals must report gifts they or their families receive. Specifically, the bill focuses on gifts from sources other than relatives and friends. It also clarifies requirements for public declarations of gifts received.
- Amends the Conflict of Interest Act.
- Changes the conditions under which public office holders and their families can accept gifts.
- Expands the situations where reporting public office holders must disclose gifts received by themselves or their families.
- Modifies the requirements for public declarations of gifts received by reporting public office holders or their families.
- Public office holders
- Members of the families of public office holders
- The Commissioner (presumably the Ethics Commissioner, based on context)
- Reporting public office holders must disclose gifts if the total value from one source (other than relatives) exceeds $200 in 12 months, within 30 days of exceeding the threshold.
- Reporting public office holders must make a public declaration for any single gift valued at $200 or more (from a source other than a relative), within 30 days of acceptance.
- The bill was given first reading on June 23, 2009.
- The bill text does not specify what is considered a 'relative' or 'close personal friend' for the purposes of gift exceptions.
- The bill does not define 'public office holder' or specify which individuals are covered by these rules.
- The bill does not explicitly state who the 'Commissioner' is, though context suggests it refers to the Ethics Commissioner.
This bill amends specific sections of the Conflict of Interest Act concerning the acceptance and disclosure of gifts by public office holders and their families. It modifies the exceptions for gifts from relatives and friends, and alters the thresholds and procedures for reporting and publicly declaring gifts.
Source: Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the bill
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
The Senate of Canada completed the first reading of Bill S-239, an Act to amend the Conflict of Interest Act (gifts), and scheduled it for second reading.
On June 23, 2009, the Senate of Canada held its first reading of Bill S-239, an Act to amend the Conflict of Interest Act (gifts). Following the first reading, the bill was scheduled for second reading at a later date. The rest of the sitting involved tributes to retiring senators, discussions on various other bills and committee reports, and questions raised during Question Period on topics such as the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, the wind energy industry, drug trafficking, humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka, and civil legal aid.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
The Senate debated Bill S-239 concerning amendments to the Conflict of Interest Act, adjourning the debate, and also proceeded with debates and readings of other bills and reports during its sitting on November 4, 2009.
During a Senate sitting on November 4, 2009, the Senate debated Bill S-239, an Act to amend the Conflict of Interest Act (gifts). The debate on this bill was adjourned. The sitting also included discussions on the role of women in armed forces, the Treaty on Cluster Munitions, and the treatment of First Nations veterans. Additionally, the Senate received a first reading of a bill to amend the Employment Insurance Act (Bill C-50) and proceeded to second reading debate for it. Other items included reports tabled by parliamentary delegations and discussions on various government issues.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced