The Ethics Commissioner performs a variety of roles under the Conflicts of Interest Act.
- Members must file complete financial disclosure information with the Ethics Commissioner. The Commissioner meets with each Member on an annual basis to review their submissions.
- From the detailed submissions, the Office of the Ethics Commissioner prepares and posts public disclosure statements.
- An important role of the Commissioner is that of assisting MLAs in understanding their obligations under the Act. The Commissioner is available to meet with caucuses or with individual Members. A Member may seek the advice of the Commissioner on conflict of interest issues. If a Member provides all relevant information and relies on the Commissioner's advice, the Member is protected from any further action related to allegations of conflict of interest on that issue. The Commissioner may also determine that her advice and recommendations have a more general application, and she may provide advice to all MLAs.
- The Commissioner may also conduct investigations and inquiries. A request for investigation must be in writing and must identify the person requesting the investigation. All reports of investigations are made public through tabling in the Legislature by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
- Designated Senior Officials, Designated Office Holders and Political Staff are also required to file disclosure statements with the Commissioner, but public disclosure statements are not prepared for them. The Commissioner is available for advice on ethics or conflicts of interest issues but the Codes of Conduct for each of the three groups sets out the procedure for conflicts of interest for each group.
