April 30, 2010
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Makes Findings
on Use of Ceremonial Cheques and Offers Observations
Ottawa (April 30, 2010)— Ed Komarnicki, Member of Parliament
for Souris-Moose Mountain and Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the
Minister of Labour commented today on the report issued by the
Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, on the use of ceremonial cheques
for funding announcements.
“It is somewhat unfortunate that the Commissioner did not deal with each case specifically as there are differences to be sure, but that said, she did provide some findings and made some observations.”
Most importantly, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner found that the use of ceremonial cheques did not contravene the Code or Act. She did offer her opinion and observation that the practice of using partisan identifiers in government announcements goes too far.
“I have ensured that personal identifiers are not used on ceremonial cheques as of the date that the complaint was filed,” said Komarnicki.
The Ethics Commissioner also observed that she did not believe anyone can claim exclusive right to the use of a particular colour and that the use of a particular colour would not necessarily imply any particular partisan brand by itself.
“For that I am thankful,
as I am partial to the colour blue and kind of like it!”
said Komarnicki. “That said, I will continue to look for
innovative and constructive ways to communicate effectively
with constituents in my riding.”
