Office of the Integrity Commissioner (Ontario)
The Office of the Integrity Commissioner for the province of Ontario is the office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario responsible for preventing ethics violations before they occur for members of the Legislative Assembly.
Overview
The position was created by the province in 1988 with the passing of the Conflict of Interest Act in 1988. The headquarters for the office is located in Toronto at 2 Bloor Street West.The office has other legislation that assists in its mandate to govern the actions of the members of the Legislative Assembly:
- Lobbyists Registration Act, 1999
- Cabinet Ministers and Opposition Leaders Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002
- Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006
- Public Sector Expenses Review Act, 2009
Integrity Commissioners
- Gregory T. Evans
- Robert C. Rutherford
- Gregory T. Evans
- Coulter Osborne
- Lynn Morrison
- J. David Wake
Case summaries
Year | Allegations | Findings by Integrity Commissioner | Other comments by Integrity Commissioner |
2009-2010 | Conflict of interest related to hiring | No conflict of interest found. | |
2009-2010 | Meeting quality standards - gross mismanagement and grave danger regarding service delivery | No gross mismanagement. | |
2010-2011 | Grave danger and gross mismanagement in relation to a regulatory matter | No grave danger. | |
2010-2011 | Wrongdoing in relation to a regulatory process | Lack of policy clarity and failure of the ministry to oversee the unit’s activities in relation to the issue resulted in inconsistent application of the regulatory program. | |
2010-2011 | Theft | No theft detected | Procedural weaknesses in the processes identified |
2010-2011 | Conflict of interest allegation in relation to hiring | No wrongdoing | Reasonable basis to give rise to a perception that conflict of interest had occurred. |
2011-2012 | Gross mismanagement and grave danger to the life, health and/or safety of a person | No wrongdoing. | |
2011-2012 | Improper investigation | Insufficient basis for investigation. | |
2011-2012 | Improper conduct | No improper conduct found. | Lack of policy clarity within the Ministry |
2011-2012 | Manipulation of attendance figures | No wrongdoing as allegation were not substantiated. | |
2012-2013 | Gross mismanagement and conflict of interest in relation to procurement | No gross mismanagement or conflicts of interest. | There were serious issues with the procurement practices. |
2012-2013 | Conflict of Interest | No contravention of the conflict of interest rules. | |
2013-2014 | Gross mismanagement due to improper influence by a stakeholder over public servant staffing | No gross mismanagement. | |
2013-2014 | Criminal use of a computer | No use of work computer for any improper purpose. | |
2013-2014 | Gross mismanagement for management’s failure to address bullying and harassment in a particular work unit, and preferential treatment of a vendor | No gross mismanagement. | |
2013-2014 | Conflict of interest and gross mismanagement | No wrongdoing or any improper conduct found | |
2013-2014 | Cover up of loss of evidence held pursuant to court order | No wrongdoing as prior investigation and corrective actions had already been taken. | Commissioner recommended additional corrective action including: informing the court and the parties about the loss of evidence, informing police authorities of the circumstances, and conducting a further investigation relating to the conduct of another individual. |
2014-2015 | Conflict of interest and gross mismanagement related to procurement | No wrongdoing. | Deficiencies with overall procurement practices |
2014-2015 | Interference of a licensing decision | No wrongdoing. | |
2015-2016 | Conflict of interest | No wrongdoing. | Integrity Commissioner did not investigate. |
2015-2016 | Gross mismanagement - Improper use of Ministry resources | No wrongdoing. | |
2015-2016 | Gross mismanagement - Acting in a manner contrary to acceptable practices, failing to report an incident and counselling another public servant to engage in wrongdoing. | Wrongdoing found. | |
2015-2016 | Conflict of interest | No wrongdoing. | |
2015-2016 | Conflict of interest | No wrongdoing. | No investigation by Integrity Commissioner. |