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ARCHIVED - Guidelines for Ministers' Offices (2004-07) - Archived


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Part 8  Services and Hospitality

8.1  Parking

A Minister's vehicle, being the property of the Crown, is allotted a parking space at the Minister's office.

A Minister's Chief of Staff is entitled to receive a 50 per cent rebate on his or her monthly parking charges at either Crown-owned or leased premises, or commercially operated parking premises. However, the amount reimbursed for commercial parking premises shall not exceed 50 per cent of the established monthly rate for Crown-owned or leased parking spaces in that area. Reimbursement for either private or Crown parking is deemed a taxable benefit where the rate paid by the employee is not fair market value.

All other staff members must pay for their parking in government parking areas at the same rates paid by Public Service employees.

8.2  Relocation

A Minister or Minister of State may, at his or her discretion, reimburse the relocation expenses of appointees who accept employment as exempt staff. Relocation expenses are not normally reimbursed to a person on initial appointment as exempt staff below the level of Chief of Staff, Senior Policy Advisor, Director of Communications, or Director of Parliamentary Affairs, however, such assistance may be negotiated between the Minister or Minister of State with the individual under the authority of the Special Relocation Authorities (Part 3 - Relocation Expenses - Members of ministers' staff) which is found at the following internet address: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/menu-travel-voyage-eng.asp. Any negotiated relocation assistance for those individuals would be paid from the Minister's or Minister's of State own operating budget. The relocation assistance offered to those appointed to Chief of Staff, Senior Policy Advisor, Director of Communications, or Director of Parliamentary Affairs by the Minister or Minister of State may be up to the full provisions of the Integrated Relocation Program Directive (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/irp-eng.asp). A third party service provider provides professional relocation assistance which is co-ordinated through each Departmental National Coordinator which should be the first point of contact for any relocation enquiries or assistance. The letter of offer or other correspondence to be placed on the appointee's file should clearly state the specific relocation expenses to be reimbursed to the appointee, including a provision for pro-rated recovery of expenses for early voluntary termination of employment. There are no provisions for reimbursing relocation expenses on completion of employment. No relocation expense should be initiated by the appointee prior to obtaining formal authorization.

8.3  Hospitality and gifts

8.3.1  Hospitality - Ministers and Ministers of State

The Treasury Board Hospitality Policy can be found at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12190. While events that a Minister or a Minister of State hosts personally are exempt from the policy, the guidelines set out in the hospitality policy are appropriate to hospitality extended on behalf of the government. These guidelines list the appropriate occasions, the various forms of hospitality, and the types of facilities, which should preferably be government owned, but which must never be commercial facilities that indulge in discrimination practices.

Because it might seem that Ministers and Ministers of State benefit personally from hospitality functions, they should be aware that high standards are expected of them. They should avoid giving the slightest impression of using public funds and facilities for anything other than purely official purposes.

8.3.1.1  Accounting

When seeking reimbursement of hospitality expenditures, Ministers and Ministers of State must make a statement that includes the following sentence:

"I certify that the foregoing expenditures have been incurred by me on official business in (month) (year)."

(Signed) Minister's signature

This certification is pursuant to section 34 of the Financial Administration Act.

In the interest of transparency and accountability, since January 1, 2004, Ministers and Ministers of State are required to post on their Departmental web-site all hospitality expenses. All hospitality expenses will be posted on a quarterly basis within 30 days following the last day of the quarter. The expenses posted on the web-site must include the following information:

  • The total amount of hospitality incurred; and
  • The establishment/restaurant where the hospitality occurred.

All Parliamentary Secretaries and exempt staff of Ministers and Ministers of State will also be required to post all hospitality expenses on the Departmental web-site (see section 8.3.2)

Ministers and Ministers of State should maintain complete records of each hospitality occasion so that they can respond to any questions that may later arise.

8.3.2  Hospitality - Ministers' and Ministers' of State staff

There may be instances when a Minister or Minister of State requires a Parliamentary Secretary or staff member to extend hospitality on behalf of the Minister, Minister of State or the department. Such hospitality may be necessary because it will economically facilitate the business of the department or agency or because it is considered essential as a matter of courtesy or protocol. In these instances, such hospitality shall be extended in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Hospitality and all the requirements for documentation shall be met. Claims for reimbursement should be approved by the Chief of Staff, the Minister or the Minister of State (as the case may be).

Separate claims should be submitted when a member of a Minister's or Minister's of State staff claims reimbursement for his or her own hospitality expenses and for hospitality disbursements made on behalf of the Minister or the Minister of State. The latter should be accounted for separately, included in any reports of ministerial office expenses, and accompanied by the ministerial certification.

In the interest of transparency and accountability, since January 1, 2004, Parliamentary Secretaries and Ministers and Ministers of State exempt staff are also required to post on their Departmental web-site all hospitality expenses. All hospitality expenses will be posted on a quarterly basis within 30 daysfollowing the last day of the quarter. The expenses posted on the web-site must include the following information:

  • The name of the staff/exempt staff who provided the hospitality,
  • The total amount of hospitality incurred, and
  • The establishment/restaurant where the hospitality occurred.

8.3.3  Gifts received

The Conflict of Interest and Post-employment Code for Public Office Holders, http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/default.asp?Language=E&Page=Ministers&sub=PrimeMinister&doc=20041007_backgrounder_e.htm, (sections 20 to 22) states that gifts, hospitality and other benefits, which could influence public office holders in their judgment and in the performance of official duties and responsibilities, shall be declined. Subject to this condition, gifts, hospitality and other benefits of a value of $200 or less received by a Minister, a Minister of State or exempt staff from any one source in a twelve-month period need not be disclosed to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner.

Gifts, hospitality and other benefits of a value greater than $200 must be disclosed to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. These are acceptable if they arise out of activities associated with the performance of the public office holder's duties and responsibilities and meet the follow requirements:

(a)  are within the normal bounds of propriety, a normal expression of courtesy or protocol or within the normal standards of hospitality;

(b)  are not such as to bring suspicion on the Minister's or Minister's of State objectivity and impartiality; and

(c)  would not compromise the integrity of the Government.

In addition, gifts, hospitality and other benefits of a reasonable value received from governments or in connection with an official or public event are also permitted, as are gifts, hospitality and other benefits from family members and close personal friends.

Gifts, hospitality and other benefits of a value greater than $1,000 are acceptable if they meet the above-mentioned requirements. However, if not received from a family member or close personal friend, these may only be accepted on behalf of the Government of Canada and must be placed into the government inventory rather than be retained by the Minister or the Minister of State. They may be used or displayed in the Minister's or Minister's of State office or Department but must be left behind upon leaving public office.

The Code requires that acceptable gifts, hospitality and other benefits over $200 received from other than a family member or close personal friend be publicly declared. For this purpose, the Minister or Minister of State is required to notify the Ethics Commissioner of the gift, the donor and the circumstances. The Office of the Ethics Commissioner will prepare a public declaration for the signature of the Minister or Minister of State. Once signed, this declaration will be available for reading by the public from the web-based Public Registry found at the Ethics Commissioner's web site (http://www.parl.gc.ca/oec/en/).

8.3.4  Gifts given

It has been government practice that official gifts and mementoes are presented only on occasions where:

  • they further international relations;
  • official hospitality abroad is involved; or
  • foreign visitors or delegations are hosted in Canada.

Whenever any of these circumstances arise, a Minister's or Minister's of State staff should contact the Gift Bank, which is operated by the State Ceremonials Directorate of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Gift Bank also ensures that official gifts are distinctively Canadian. Appropriate gifts include contemporary arts and crafts, or items representative of Canadian culture, arts and cultural products or Canadian manufacturing. The Gift Bank can provide advice on appropriate types of gifts, and will ensure that official gifts are of a value suitable to the status of the recipient.

If a gift other than those from the Gift Bank is being considered, and as a last recourse and under exceptional circumstances, certain authorities may be needed. These may include the authority to make the acquisition of the gift a legitimate expenditure of public funds, and the authority to transfer the gift. A submission to the Treasury Board for a recommendation to the Governor in Council may be required to secure such authorities.

8.4  Memberships

In accordance with Treasury Board Policy on Memberships and Registration Fees, contained in the "Employee Entitlements", which can be found at internet address: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/CHAP6_1-eng.asp, the department or agency may reimburse Ministers' and Ministers' of State exempt staff for memberships and registrations. Memberships are limited to departmental requirements and should be held in the department's name whenever possible. Memberships that are not a legal requirement of the position and whose main purpose is to increase the public's contact with departmental operations should be authorized only in the most exceptional circumstances. The reasons justifying these memberships must be beyond question, particularly when they include social or recreational facilities considering that exempt staff may have specific requirements in the course of their political duties which are distinct and separate from departmental requirements.

8.5  Conferences

Participation in major international government conferences headed by a Minister or, Minister of State should be limited to a delegation of eight Canadian representatives, where possible. These eight include Ministers' and Ministers' of State staff, but exclude essential technical personnel.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs should be advised of delegations where representation may include more than one department, in order to co-ordinate the overall Canadian representation.

The lead departmental Minister or Minister of State heading the delegation has the final decision as to the number of representatives.

8.6  Legal services

Under the Government Contracts Regulations, contracts to perform legal services may be entered into only by or under the authority of the Minister of Justice.

8.6.1  Indemnification and legal assistance

This protection is currently identical to those covering Crown servants, as set out in the Policy on the Indemnification of and Legal Assistance for Crown Servants, which can be found at the internet address: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12338 . Ministers, Ministers of State and their exempt staff will be entitled to indemnification against personal civil liability and will be eligible for legal assistance, provided they meet basic policy requirements, which are to have acted honestly and without malice within the scope of their duties and met reasonable expectations. This need may arise from any act or omission of the Minister or the staff member in the conduct of portfolio or other official government business.