TCE
Democracy Watch, a national advocacy group, is calling for an immediate overhaul of the federal government’s ethics legislation, testifying before the House Ethics Committee on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that the current law is a “sad joke” riddled with loopholes that allow top officials to secretly profit from their decisions.
During the committee’s first review of the Conflict of Interest Act (COIA) since 2012, Democracy Watch Co-founder Duff Conacher stated that the Act should be renamed the “Almost Impossible to be in a Conflict of Interest Act” due to its extensive weaknesses.
The group is specifically demanding the committee recommend the closure of the “dirty dozen” loopholes, arguing they enable the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, their staff, and top government officials to maintain financial ties that influence their decisions.
“Unethical Smokescreens”
Conacher singled out two primary mechanisms currently used to manage conflicts of interest, dismissing them as ineffective “smokescreens”:
Not-Blind Trusts: Democracy Watch asserts that so-called “blind trusts” are not blind at all. Office holders know which investments they place in the trust, choose their own trustee, can give instructions (such as “don’t sell anything”), and receive regular updates on the investments.
Ethics Screens: The group called ethics screens an “unethical smokescreen” that allows officials to secretly participate in decisions affecting their financial interests.
To ensure genuine accountability, Conacher stressed that the only effective solution is to mandate that all office holders sell their investments (divestment), a recommendation first made in landmark reports dating back to 1984 and 1987.
Political Action Demanded
Democracy Watch also criticized the ethics enforcement record of current Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein, alleging a weak approach that includes burying investigations and creating new loopholes.
The group issued an ultimatum to opposition parties, urging them to enact a private member’s bill to close the loopholes and strengthen penalties if the “Carney Liberal Cabinet” refuses to introduce a government bill. The organization noted that Prime Minister Mark Carney is allegedly exploiting these loopholes himself through an ethics screen and blind trust to keep millions invested in over 655 businesses, including the Brookfield conglomerate.
Furthermore, Democracy Watch called on PM Carney to publicly re-enact the comprehensive “PM Code” for ministers and their staff, warning that failing to do so “will gut Canada’s already weak, loophole-filled government ethics law.”
Democracy Watch calls for changes to federal ethics laws
