CANADA, February 19 - Legislation has been introduced to extend the appointment term of the acting conflict of interest commissioner until the next conflict of interest commissioner can be appointed.
Without the proposed legislation, the office will become vacant before the next commissioner can be appointed. Victoria Gray, KC, was appointed to the acting role on Jan. 6, 2025. The term expires 20 sitting days of legislative assembly after the appointment date, on April 7, 2025, as per the Member’s Conflict of Interest Act.
The search for a commissioner is carried out by a special committee of the legislature through a process that takes approximately six to eight months. Typically, this process would have been already underway, but it has been delayed due to the 2024 provincial general election and interregnum period. Government anticipates that the special committee will be struck imminently and will begin its work shortly.
The commissioner is an independent officer of the legislative assembly of British Columbia. The commissioner serves five-year terms and provides advice to members of the legislative assembly concerning their obligations under the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act. The commissioner’s primary roles are:
- to provide confidential advice to members about their obligations under the act;
- to oversee the disclosure process, including meeting with each member at least annually to review the disclosure of the member’s financial interests; and
- to respond to allegations that a member has contravened the act and conduct an inquiry if needed.
Gray completed a five-year term as commissioner from Jan. 6, 2020, to Jan. 5, 2025. She sat on the B.C. Supreme Court from 2001 until 2017, after 19 years of practicing as a commercial litigator in Vancouver and teaching civil litigation at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia.
Learn More:
For information about the conflict of interest commissioner, visit: https://coibc.ca/
To read about the appointment of Gray as acting commissioner, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/31886
