Testifying before the House Ethics Committee, Democracy Watch warned that Canada’s political ethics rules are too weak. “Canada’s political ethics laws and codes for Cabinet ministers, their staff and top government officials are full of loopholes that allow them to secretly profit financially from their decisions, and are weaker than the rules for senators and … Read more
Democracy Watch is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) to re-enact the federal ethics code for ministers and staff, warning that failing to do so could weaken key rules under the Conflict of Interest Act. The group says Carney’s so-called “blind trust” and “ethics screen” are ineffective, allowing him to secretly influence decisions … Read more
Democracy Watch is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) to sell his investments, including stock options in Brookfield companies, alleging his blind trust and ethics screen are ineffective and riddled with loopholes. The organization argues Carney retains knowledge and control over his holdings, and that the ethics screen fails to prevent or disclose … Read more
Democracy Watch called on federal party leaders to learn the lessons of past minority governments and reach an agreement on eight public, written rules for a fair, democratic minority government, as many countries have, and more than 80 per cent of Canadians want, and as the former Governor General David Johnston called for in August 2016 in an … Read more
Democracy Watch called on federal party leaders to learn the lessons of the past, and strengthen Canada’s sovereignty, by reaching an agreement on a new, democratic and Canadian selection process for the next Governor General (GG) that does not request approval from King Charles III (all of which can be done without changing any law or … Read more
Democracy Watch called on federal party leaders to learn the lessons of past controversial rulings by Speakers of the House of Commons by reaching an agreement to have a non-MP chosen as Speaker after an independent committee does a public, merit-based search for a short list of qualified candidates who have expertise in parliamentary rules … Read more
Democracy Watch called for democratic changes to the federal political system to make elections more fair, and to increase voter turnout. Initial results show that the Mark Carney Liberals won 49 per cent (169 out of 343) of the seats in the House of Commons with the support of only 30 per cent of eligible voters … Read more
Democracy Watch released its Report Card on the Federal Parties’ 2025 Democratic Reform Platforms which evaluates their platforms in five key areas of democratic good government. “While it is notable that the Green Party has promised a partial honesty-in-politics law covering only false claims made in election advertising, given the current lack of such a law, voters … Read more
Democracy Watch released the national survey it commissioned from Nanos Research that shows more than 80 per cent of Canadians are concerned about the corrupting effects of secret, unethical lobbying on politicians’ policy-making decisions, and want to know about all lobbying activities. “A large majority of voters are understandably concerned about lobbyists secretly fundraising, campaigning and doing … Read more
Democracy Watch released the letter it has sent to Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey calling on him to have an independently appointed special prosecutor review the evidence and DWatch’s application in the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa for approval from the court to proceed with a private prosecution of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for pressuring, and directing … Read more
