Bidders attempting to contract with the Canadian federal government are required to certify they have not committed crimes of fraud or acts of corruptions.

Recent amendments to the Government Contracts Regulations require a bidder declare he or she has not, during the bid solicitation process, committed an act or engaged in an activity constituting any specifically enumerated violations under the nation’s Criminal Code, the Financial Administration Act, the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, or the Competition Act.

Additionally, the amended rules allow a contracting authority to now enter into a construction contract, or any contract not using the solicitation of bids, when the value of the contract does not exceed $40,000, an increase from the previous threshold of $25,000.

On October 7, lawmakers in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly solicited public input regarding what procedural rules they should follow.

The Standing Committee on Rules, Regulations, Private Bills and Privileges is seeking public input on the Rules of the Legislative Assembly, in particular on potential changes to the parliamentary calendar, sitting hours, and budget process.

Public comments and suggestions by individuals and organizations must be in writing and submitted to the Assembly by October 25.

On October 21, 2019, the fixed date for Canadian federal elections, the election for the now-vacant seat in the House of Commons representing Calgary Forest Lawn (Alberta) will be held.

Because this vacancy occurred less than nine months before October’s fixed-date general election, no by-election will be held.

On August 15, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, received official notice from the Speaker of the House of Commons that the seat for Calgary Forest Lawn (Alberta) became vacant.

The vacancy came following the death of MP Deepak Obhrai on August 2.

Obhrai had been the longest-serving Conservative member of Parliament.

On August 14, Canada’s federal ethics office issued a report finding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his position to seek to influence a decision of the Attorney General of Canada relating to a criminal prosecution involving a Canadian corporation based in Montreal.

The 63-page report, released by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, was prepared by Commissioner Mario Dion.

Dion concludes in the report that Trudeau violated section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act.

Section 9 prohibits public office holders from using their position to seek to influence a decision of another person to further their own private interests or those of their relatives or friends, or to improperly further another person’s private interests.

Included in the report is a summary of the official response from Trudeau’s legal counsel denying culpability.

Sometime on or before February 2, 2020, a by-election must be held for the seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the electoral district of Ottawa-Vanier.

On August 2, the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario received a notice of vacancy for the position from the Assembly.

MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers, who had announced her intention to leave office on May 16, resigned on July 31 to begin working August 1 as the Principal of Massey College at the University of Toronto.

Any by-election in the province must be called within six months of the Chief Electoral Officer receiving notice of the vacancy.

On July 31, three members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly will resign their positions to seek federal positions.

The members, Chris D’Entremont, Alfie MacLeod, and Eddie Orrell, have been nominated as candidates for the Conservative Party of Canada.

The three are required to step down before the writ period begins for the fall elections.

By-elections for the soon-to-be-vacant provincial seats have not been yet been called.

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario adjourned its legislative session on June 6 and voted 64-35 to not return till October 28, a week following the federal election.

Ontario is expected to be a major battleground in the upcoming election, with the Conservative Party hoping to make major gains in the province.

Members of opposition parties suggest the extended break is an attempt to avoid hurting the Conservative Party’s chances to regain control.

On April 29, a bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for purposes of clarifying certain contributions.

Bill 103, the Election Finances Amendment Act (Leadership Fundraising Loophole) 2019, amends the Election Finances Act and provides that contributions to a leadership campaign following a leadership vote may only be used for the purpose of paying off campaign debt.

If passed, the private member’s bill introduced by MPP John Fraser, will come into effect on the day it receives Royal Assent.

On April 30, Nancy Bélanger, the Commissioner of Lobbying Canada, recommended to the Parliament that they amend the nation’s federal Lobbying Act to improve transparency when the travel of public officials is sponsored by lobbyists.

Bélanger made her recommendation in her report to the House of Commons and to the Senate on her office’s investigation into sponsored travel provided by lobbyists.

The Commissioner found no violation of law related to sponsored travel, but did find a gap in the level of transparency of information disclosed in the Registry of Lobbyists.

“Amending disclosure requirements to include additional information that the Commissioner of Lobbying considers relevant would ensure that sponsored travel is captured as part of the context in which lobbying occurred,” said Bélanger in her press release.

On April 17, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball issued a writ of election for the provincial general election to take place on May 16.

On the same day, Bruce Chaulk, the Chief Electoral Officer of Newfoundland and Labrador, issued election writs to all 40 district returning officers of the province announcing the new date.

The advance poll date is May 9 and the deadline for candidate nominations is April 25.

Elections NL is also set to accept early voting applications, which will be available between April 25 and May 9.

Ball called for the election after tabling the budget.

“I am now seeking a mandate from the people of our province to continue our plan,” Ball announced according to the Western Star.

On April 23, a general election for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island will be held.

The 65th General Assembly was dissolved on March 26. On March 27, Premier Wade MacLauchlan called for the general election for the 66th General Assembly to be held on the April date.

A binding Election System Referendum regarding the province’s voting system is also scheduled for April 23.

The question on the referendum ballot is, “Should Prince Edward Island change its voting system to a mixed member proportional voting system?”

Advance polls for early voting will be held on April 13, April 15, and April 18.

A new lobbying law for the province of Prince Edward Island came into effect on April 1. Bill No. 24, the Lobbyist Registration Act, was passed in December of 2017 during the Third Session of the 65th General Assembly of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly.

Consultant lobbyists, in-house lobbyists, and employers of in-house lobbyists are now required to register with the Registrar when communicating with a public office holder, directly or through grassroots communications, in an attempt to influence them on a variety of issues.

Additionally, consultant lobbyists are required to register when communicating with a public-office holder to influence the awarding of any contract by or on behalf of the Crown or arrange a meeting between a public-office holder and any other person.

Registrants are required to file returns with this Registrar every six months detailing any relevant subject matters lobbied, including legislative and regulatory proposals, the techniques of communication the lobbyist has used or expects to use to lobby, the employer or client for which the registrant is lobbying, and the identification of entities or persons paying more than $750 per fiscal year to the registrant to lobby.

Lobbying on a contingency fee basis is prohibited for consultant lobbyists and former public office holders are prohibited from lobbying for a period of six months after leaving office. Penalties for violations of the Act include fines up to $25,000.

On May 6, a by-election will be held for the electoral district of Nanaimo–Ladysmith (British Columbia) to fill a vacancy in the Canadian House of Commons.

On January 7, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, had received official notice from the Speaker of the House of Commons that the seat became vacant following the resignation of Sheila Malcolmson, who resigned on January 2 to run in a provincial byelection.

On March 24, Elections Canada declared the May election date and announced the opening of its local office in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy announced the government of Ontario intends to centralize all provincial procurements in an effort to save the public money.

On March 20, Bethlenfalvy tweeted centralizing government procurement will save $1 billion a year, make it easier and more efficient to deliver services to the people, and allow the province to invest in other core public services like healthcare and education.

In his press release on Monday, Bethlenfalvy said there would be interim measures, such as the limiting of long-term contracts during the building of a centralized system. The province will also hire consulting services to support the development of a centralized procurement system.

“Currently there is far too much duplication and fragmentation in the system. We are not taking advantage of our shared buying power to drive efficiencies and cost savings,” Bethlenfalvy told CP24.