2016-c.53 Integrity Commissioner Act N.B.

There shall be an Office of the Integrity Commissioner, as well as an Integrity Commissioner.

Subject to subsections (3) to (6), the Commissioner shall be appointed by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly.

Before an appointment is made under subsection (2), a selection committee shall be established for the purpose of identifying persons as potential candidates to be appointed Commissioner.

The selection committee shall be composed of

The selection committee shall develop a roster of qualified candidates and submit a list of names of qualified candidates to the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council.

The Premier shall consult with the Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the other political parties having representation in the Legislative Assembly during the most recent session with respect to one or more qualified candidates from the selection committee’s list of qualified candidates.

The Commissioner is an officer of the Legislative Assembly.

Subject to subsection (9), the Commissioner shall hold office for a term of seven years and is not eligible for reappointment.

The Lieutenant‑Governor in Council may extend the term of the Commissioner for a period of not more than 12 months.

The Commissioner shall be paid an annual salary as determined by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council within the deputy head pay plan, and is entitled to receive benefits similar to those received by deputy heads.

The Commissioner may participate in and receive benefits under any health, life, disability or other insurance, pension or retirement plan available to employees within the public service, in accordance with the terms upon which the right to participate and receive benefits may from time to time be extended to the Commissioner.

The Commissioner shall not be a member of the Legislative Assembly and shall not hold any other office of trust or profit, other than his or her office as Commissioner, without the prior approval by the Legislative Assembly or, if it is not sitting, by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Despite subsection (1), the Commissioner may hold more than one office given to him or her by the Legislative Assembly or the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Before performing any duties or exercising any powers of his or her office, the Commissioner shall take an oath to faithfully and impartially perform the duties and exercise the powers of the office conferred on him or her under this Act or any other Act and not to divulge any information received under this Act or any other Act except for the purpose of giving effect to this Act or any other Act and in compliance with this Act or any other Act.

The Speaker or the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall administer the oath referred to in subsection (1).

The Commissioner may resign from office by notice in writing addressed to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or, if there is no Speaker or the Speaker is absent from the Province, to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker or the Clerk, as the case may be, shall immediately inform the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council of the Commissioner’s resignation.

The Commissioner shall hold office during good behaviour and may only be removed by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council for incapacity, neglect of duty or misconduct upon an address in which two‑thirds of the members of the Legislative Assembly concur.

Upon an address in which a majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly voting concur, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may suspend the Commissioner, with or without pay, pending an investigation which may lead to removal under subsection (1).

If the Legislature is not in session and on an application by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to the Court, a judge of the Court may suspend the Commissioner, with or without pay, for incapacity, neglect of duty or misconduct.

If a judge of the Court suspends the Commissioner under subsection (3), the judge shall do the following:

No suspension under subsection (3) shall continue beyond the end of the next session of the Legislature.

Any disclosure by the Commissioner of information which the Commissioner is required to keep confidential under this Act or any other Act shall be grounds for removal from office.

An appointment under subsection (4) shall not impede a person’s subsequent appointment under section 2.

If, for any reason, the Commissioner determines that he or she should not act in respect of any particular matter under this Act or any other Act, the Commissioner shall give written notice of this determination to the Speaker or, if there is no Speaker or the Speaker is absent from the Province, to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker or the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, as the case may be, shall immediately inform the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council of the Commissioner’s determination.

On the recommendation of the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council, the Commissioner may appoint a Special Commissioner to act in the place of the Commissioner in respect of that matter.

A Special Commissioner holds office until the conclusion of the matter in respect of which he or she has been appointed.

An appointment under subsection (3) shall not impede a person’s subsequent appointment under section 2.

The Premier shall consult with the Leader of the Opposition before an appointment is made under subsection (3).

While in office, a Special Commissioner has the powers and duties of the Commissioner and shall be paid the salary or other remuneration and expenses fixed by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council.

If the Commissioner has been suspended under subsection 7(2), the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council may appoint an acting Commissioner to hold office until the suspension has elapsed.

While in office, an acting Commissioner appointed under subsection (1) has the powers and duties of the Commissioner and shall be paid the salary or other remuneration and expenses fixed by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council.

The Premier shall consult with the Leader of the Opposition before an appointment is made under subsection (1).

An appointment under subsection (1) shall not impede a person’s subsequent appointment under section 2.

Subject to subsection (2), the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council may appoint an acting Commissioner for a term of one year if

The appointment of an acting Commissioner comes to an end when a new Commissioner is appointed under section 2.

If the Commissioner is unable to act because of illness, absence or other cause, the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council may appoint an acting Commissioner, whose appointment comes to an end when the Commissioner is again able to act or when the office becomes vacant.

While in office, an acting Commissioner appointed under subsection (1) or (3) has the powers and duties of the Commissioner and shall be paid the salary or other remuneration and expenses fixed by the Lieutenant‑Governor in Council.

An appointment under subsection (1) or (3) shall not impede a person’s subsequent appointment under section 2.

The Premier shall consult with the Leader of the Opposition before an appointment is made under subsection (1) or (3).

The Commissioner may appoint those persons to positions in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner that he or she considers necessary to enable him or her to perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred on him or her under this Act or any other Act.

Before performing any duties or exercising any powers conferred on him or her under this Act or any other Act, a person appointed under subsection (1) shall take an oath, administered by the Commissioner, that the person will not divulge any information that is received under this Act or any other Act, except for the purpose of giving effect to and in compliance with this Act or any other Act.

All persons employed in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner may participate in and receive benefits under any health, life, disability or other insurance, pension or retirement plan available to employees within the public service, in accordance with the terms upon which the right to participate and receive benefits may from time to time be extended to the persons employed in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.

The Commissioner may share employees and the cost of those employees with other officers of the Legislative Assembly.

The Commissioner may delegate, in writing, to any person any power of the Commissioner under this Act or any other Act, except the power of delegation and the power to make a report under this Act or any other Act.

Despite subsection (1), if the Commissioner is in a conflict of interest with respect to a matter referred to the Commissioner, the Commissioner may delegate, in writing, to any person any power with respect to that matter, including the power to make a report.

A person purporting to exercise a power of the Commissioner by virtue of a delegation under subsection (1) or (2) shall produce evidence of his or her authority to exercise that power when required to do so.

If the Commissioner is authorized to conduct an investigation under this Act or any other Act, the Commissioner may

If a person fails to comply with a summons issued or an order made under subsection (1), the Commissioner may apply to the Court for one or both of the following orders:

No action or other proceeding lies or shall be instituted against any of the following persons when performing the duties and exercising the powers conferred on him or her under this Act or any other Act for anything he or she may do, report or say in the course of the performance or intended performance of those duties or the exercise or intended exercise of those powers, unless it is shown that he or she acted in bad faith:

None of the following persons when performing the duties and exercising the powers conferred on him or her under this Act or any other Act shall be called to give evidence in any court or in any proceeding of a judicial nature in respect of anything coming to his or her knowledge in the performance of those duties or the exercise of those powers, whether or not those duties or powers were within his or her jurisdiction:

The following persons shall keep confidential and shall not disclose any information and other matters that come to their knowledge in the performance of the duties or the exercise of the powers conferred on them under this Act or any other Act unless with the consent of the person to whom the information relates or unless required to disclose it by law or in furtherance of the Commissioner’s mandate under this Act or any other Act:

Despite subsection (1), the Commissioner may disclose in a report made under the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act those matters which the Commissioner considers necessary to disclose in order to establish grounds for his or her conclusions and recommendations.

Failure to comply with subsection (1) by a person employed in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner is sufficient grounds for dismissal or other disciplinary action as the Commissioner considers appropriate.

For the purposes of this section, a person employed in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner includes an employee who is shared with another officer of the Legislative Assembly under subsection 11(4).

If a former Commissioner or a person formerly employed in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner fails to comply with subsection (1), the Commissioner may apply to the Court for an order finding the person in contempt of the Commissioner and imposing punishment in the same manner as if the person had been found in contempt of court.