On November 24, Public Safety Canada announced additional public consultations for a possible federal Foreign Influence Transparency Registry (FITR).

Earlier this year, the Government of Canada had solicited the public on potential new methods for the government to protect Canada against covert and deceptive foreign interference.

This new announcement is based on the feedback received through the previous consultations, which suggested a registry would not be a universal solution.

The new consultations will also focus on potential legislative amendments to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Criminal Code, the Security of Information Act, and the Canada Evidence Act.

Anyone living in Canada, or Canadians living abroad, may share their input through a consultation webpage, which will be accepted until February 2, 2024.

On November 30, a by-election will be held for the seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the electoral district of Kitchener-Centre.

On November 1, the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario announced the election to fill the vacancy.

MPP Laura Mae Monique Lindo, who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018, resigned on July 13 in order to work at the philosophy department at the University of Waterloo.

In addition to a blackout on political advertising from November 29 to November 30, the publication of election surveys that have not previously been made public is prohibited between 12:01 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on November 30.

On November 13, the United States Supreme Court issued its first Code of Conduct to regulate its own ethical behavior.

In a statement from the Court, it said, “The absence of a Code . . . has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules. To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”

The code is broken into five canons of behavior and includes commentary of the canons.

The canons address upholding the integrity and independence of the judiciary; avoiding impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities; performing the duties of office fairly, impartially, and diligently; engaging in extrajudicial activities that are consistent with the obligations of the judicial office; and refraining from political activity.

The code is substantially derived from the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges but adapted for the Court.

To assist the Justices in complying with these Canons, the Chief Justice has directed Court officers to undertake an examination of best practices of other federal and state courts.

The Office of Legal Counsel plans on providing annual training to the Justices, staff, and Court personnel regarding recurring ethics and financial disclosure issues.

In addition to the Code of Conduct, Justices are directed to comply with various federal laws and rules, including the current Judicial Conference Regulations on gifts; foreign gifts and decorations; outside earned income, honoraria, and employment; and financial disclosure.

Voters in New Haven, Connecticut approved changes to the City Charter, which includes extending the terms of the mayor, the city clerk, and alders (members of the Board of Aldermen) from two to four years.

Additionally, the revision allows the Board of Alderman to increase the salaries for alders, allows them more power to reform commissions and boards, and requires all city contracts of above $100,000 to be approved by them.

The increases in the length of terms takes effect in 2027, following two more election cycles.

A charter revision for Stamford, Connecticut failed to pass in yesterday’s election.

The ballot measure would have altered the appointment process for non-elected boards and commissions, changed allowing board members with expired terms to continue to hold seats and participate in voting, and allowed any member of the Board of Representatives to nominate a candidate to a board or commission in certain circumstances.

Additionally, the measure would change how outside legal counsel is retained by the Board and added residency requirements for certain non-elected city officials.

Both opponents and proponents of the charter revisions saw it as shifting power away from the mayor to the Board of Representatives.

On November 7, citizens of Hartford, Connecticut elected Democrat Arunan Arulampalam.

Arulampalam, CEO of Hartford Land Bank, defeated Republican Mike McGarry and a variety of petitioning candidates.

Before becoming CEO, Arulampalam worked as a commissioner with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

Arulampalam will replace Mayor Luke Bronin, who did not seek reelection.

On Wednesday, October 25, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Rep. Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House.

On October 3, a small contingent of Republican members of the House, unhappy with then Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s performance, were able to assemble eight of their party to vote for his removal.

In the interim, Rep. Patrick McHenry acted as temporary speaker of the house.

The Republican members of the House voted unanimously for Johnson, with 220 votes in his favor.

The candidate put forward by the Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, received 209 votes.

On October 11, a bill was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives to increase transparency concerning gifts given to institutions of higher education by foreign entities.

House Bill 5933, the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act, would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965. These changes would:

• Require universities and colleges to provide additional information in disclosures of foreign gifts and contracts from foreign sources;
• Restrict contracts with certain foreign entities and foreign countries of concern;
• Require certain staff and faculty to report foreign gifts and contracts;
• Require disclosure of certain foreign investments within endowments;
• Lower the foreign gift reporting threshold for colleges and universities from $250,000 to $50,000 and include a $0 threshold for countries of concern; and
• Create additional penalties for colleges and universities remaining noncompliant in foreign gift reporting, including the imposition of fines and the loss of Title IV funding.

According to bill sponsor Rep. Michelle Steel’s press release, the legislation would also close reporting loopholes and provides increased transparency to Congress, intelligence agencies, and the public and would protect research-heavy institutions most targeted by adversaries of the U.S.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx.

Late in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 3, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy from his role as the Speaker of the House.

A small contingent of Republican members of the House, unhappy with the Speaker’s performance, were able to assemble eight of their party to vote for his removal.

This number, combined with the 208 Democratic members voting for removal, prevented McCarthy from keeping his position.

The final vote was 216 in favor of removal vs. 210 opposed.

While there is no current presumptive candidate, the House is expected to accept nominations and take a vote to fill his seat later today.

On September 11, the City Council of Kelowna, British Columbia established a Lobbyist Registry Council Policy.

The aim stated in the new policy, Council Policy 390 Lobbyist Registry, is to promote transparency by establishing registration and disclosure requirements for those seeking to influence a decision of council.

The council chose a policy rather than enacting a by-law.

The Policy applies to all lobbyists engaging in lobbying of a council member.

Lobbying is defined as communicating verbally or in writing, or to meet with an elected official for the purpose of influencing a decision of the council. A lobbyist is defined as an individual, whether paid or voluntary, who lobbies an elected official regarding a matter within the council’s jurisdiction.

The lobbyist may represent individual interests or represent an organization, whether employed by that organization or on behalf of a different organization.

A lobbyist must register with the city within 5 days of lobbying a council member.

Each registration is considered active for six months, after which a new registration must be filed for lobbying activities.

It is anticipated that the Lobbyist Registry will be available on the city’s website in the coming weeks.

On November 30, a by-election to fill the vacancy of Councillor for Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest in Toronto, Ontario, Canada will be held.

The seat became vacant on July 26 because of the resignation of former Councillor Gary Crawford, who instead ran in the July 27 by-election held for the vacant Scarborough-Guildwood parliament seat that he did not win.

The nominations to run for the office did not open until September 7 and close at 2 p.m. on October 16.

On September 8,  the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced it was seeking public input on ways to improve its report filing processes and public website.

The FEC is interested in recommendations and comments regarding potential opportunities for improving the process for filing required disclosure reports and for improving the organization, substance, and how to best provide the public with easily accessible information on its website.

Comments must be in writing and submitted by email to publiccomment2023-14@fec.gov. The comment window will close 60 days after publication of the Notification of Request for Public Comment in the Federal Register.

On August 29, legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to impose stricter lobbying and revolving door restrictions on Department of Defense (DOD) employees and contractors.

House Bill 5306, Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act of 2023:

• Imposes a four-year ban on certain large DOD contractors from hiring senior DOD officials and former DOD employees who managed their contract;
• Extends to four years the existing prohibition on former military generals lobbying the DOD and expands the restrictions to other senior officials; and
• Requires defense contractors to submit detailed annual reports to the DOD regarding former senior DOD officials who are subsequently employed by contractors and requires DOD to make those reports public.

Additionally, the legislation raises the recusal standard for DOD employees by prohibiting them from participating in any matter that might affect the financial interests of their former employer or direct competitor for four years and bans senior DOD officials from owning any stock in a major defense contractor that receives more than $100 million in revenue from DOD contracts.

The bill prohibits senior national security officials from working on behalf of foreign governments and prohibits military and civilian intelligence personnel from working on behalf of foreign governments or private entity that operates predominantly on behalf of a foreign government.

The bill also requires:

• Large defense contractors to submit a report of their lobbying activities, including who they’re meeting with, what they’re lobbying about, and what (unclassified) information they’re sharing;
• The secretary of defense to publish online copies of unclassified DOD contracts; and
• Military services to maintain public websites with the names, biographies, and any associated financial disclosures, as well as DOD Inspector General reports and command climate surveys, regarding all active and reserve component senior military officers.

Congressman Andy Kim, who introduced as the House companion bill to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Senate Bill 2050, said in his press release the government needs “to prevent conflicts of interest, root out corruption, waste, and fraud so [military] officials can focus on the mission in front of them.”

On October 2, a provincial by-election will be held in the electoral division of Jean-Talon, located in Quebec City, for the Quebec National Assembly.

The election will be held to fill the vacant seat of former Member of the National Assembly Joëlle Boutin, a member of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec, who resigned on July 19 in order to join the private sector. The seat became vacant on July 31.

The by-election was announced by the government of Quebec on August 30.