Resources for new MPPs

If you are a newly elected Member of Provincial Parliament, read on to learn about the responsibilities of an MPP under the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994 and the resources available through the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.

Disclosure of your Personal Finances

MPPs must file a private disclosure statement with the Integrity Commissioner within 60 days of being elected. The disclosure must include the following information from the 12 months prior to the date of the election and the12 months after the election:

  • Sources and amounts of income;
  • Descriptions and values of assets, including all investments and properties owned;
  • Details about ownership of companies;
  • Details of any contracts with the government of Ontario;
  • Descriptions and values of liabilities, including mortgages and credit cards;
  • Description of directorships and volunteer positions held;
  • Details of pension entitlements;
  • Details of all unpaid taxes;
  • Details about ongoing lawsuits and any ongoing support obligations; and,
  • Details of any guarantees given or loans co-signed.

What about my Spouse and/or Children?

The Members’ Integrity Act requires that you, as MPP, disclose similar information as is listed above for your spouse/partner and each of your minor children. You will also be required to meet with the Commissioner after you have filed. Your family members are welcome to attend the meeting with you. This meeting is a good opportunity for you to learn more about the Commissioner’s work and how the Office is here to help.

What Information is Made Public?

The Commissioner must make public certain details of an MPP’s disclosure statement, including some details of the MPP’s spouse/partner’s and minor children's statements. These public statements never include dollar values, but do include:

  • All sources of income exceeding $2,500 for the year;
  • All assets and liabilities valued at $2,500 or more (with some exceptions). This includes ownership interest in a business and any contracts with the Ontario government; and,
  • Details of any board or volunteer positions you hold.

Click here to view the statements of current and former MPPs that are available to the public.

Standards of Behaviour

MPPs are expected to perform their duties of office and arrange their private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of each member, maintains the Legislative Assembly’s dignity and justifies the respect in which society holds the Assembly and its members.

An MPP shall never use their office to influence or to seek to influence a decision to be made by another person so as to further the MPP’s private interest or improperly to further another person’s private interests.

An MPP shall not use information that is obtained in his or her capacity as an MPP and that is not available to the public to further or seek to further the MPP’s private interests or improperly to further or seek to further another person’s private interests.

Members are expected to act with integrity and impartiality that will bear the closest scrutiny.

The Members’ Integrity Act is required reading for all MPPs. The Act contains further rules and statements of values that must be adhered to by all MPPs.

What are Conflicts of Interest?

A conflict of interest arises when an MPP allows their private interests to interfere with their ability to properly perform their duties of public office.

How Do I Avoid Conflicts of Interest?

The Commissioner will provide you with advice about how best to arrange your personal affairs so that you do not place yourself or your family in a compromising position.

If you are appointed a minister of the Crown, you may be required to liquidate some or all of your assets or put them into a blind trust.  MPPs who are not ministers or parliamentary assistants are very rarely required to make special arrangements for their assets. 

Gifts and Personal Benefits

MPPs are prohibited from accepting gifts and/or personal benefits offered to them in their official capacity, except in limited circumstances:

  • The gift or benefit is received as an incident of the customs, protocols or social obligations that normally accompany the MPP’s responsibilities of office;
  • If the Integrity Commissioner is of the opinion that it is unlikely that receipt of the gift or benefit gives rise to a reasonable presumption that it was given in order to influence the MPP in the performance of his or her duties.

This page provides guidance on the gift rules.

 

Post-Service Restrictions

The post-service restrictions found in the Members’ Integrity Act apply only to members of the Executive Council. You may choose to speak with the Commissioner about those restrictions before you accept a ministerial appointment. Even if you do not meet with the Commissioner beforehand, you will be invited to meet with the Commissioner when you leave the Executive Council. 

MPP Integrity