WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - Public Body Employees and Appointees

 

The Public Service of Ontario Act (PSOA) clarifies existing rules to balance the non-partisanship of the public service with individuals’ ability to engage in political activity.

 

 

Who Needs to Know?

 

• Basic rules apply to all public body employees and appointees.
• Appointees who are full-time or part-time adjudicators working in tribunals are subject to additional rules which apply to the "specially restricted" class.

 

 

What is Political Activity?

 

• Employees and appointees participate in political activity when they:

 

• do anything in support of or in opposition to a federal or provincial political party
• do anything in support of or in opposition to a candidate in a federal, provincial or municipal election
• are or seek to become a candidate in a federal, provincial or municipal election
• make unauthorized public comments outside the scope of their duties about matters that are directly related to their duties and that are dealt with in the position or policy of a party or candidate

 

 

What are the Rules Concerning Political Activity?

 

All Employees and Appointees

• Employees and appointees are entitled to participate in political activity (with some restrictions) or can refuse to participate.
• No employee or appointee may:

 

• engage in political activity in the workplace
• engage in political activity while wearing an OPS uniform
• use government resources for political activity
• associate his/her position as a public servant with political activity (except as necessary to identify his/her position and work experience if he/she is or is seeking to be a candidate in a federal, provincial or municipal election)

 

 

Most Employees and Appointees (those who are not specially restricted)

• Employees or appointees wishing to engage in the following activities must have been granted an unpaid leave of absence:

 

• be or seek to be a candidate in a federal or provincial election during an election period
• raise funds on behalf of a party or a federal, provincial or municipal candidate (if they supervise staff or are seen to have power over the public)
• comment publicly on matters of political interest that are directly related to their duties
• engage in political activity which could interfere with the performance of their job
• engage in political activity which conflicts with the interests of the public body

 

• During an election period, any requests for a leave of absence must be granted – outside an election period, the ethics executive decides whether a leave of absence is necessary.

 

Specially Restricted Class

• Full-time and part-time adjudicators are in the specially restricted class and are not entitled to engage in political activity with the following exceptions:

 

• voting
• attending all-candidates meetings
• contributing money to a party or candidate
• being a member of a political party
• Being or seeking to be a candidate in a municipal election, and/or campaigning on behalf of a municipal candidate (only if the public servant’s ethics executive has determined that it would not be a conflict of interest)

 

• Part-time adjudicators may request a waiver from these restrictions from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.
• Positions or classifications may be added to the specially restricted group by Cabinet regulation.

 

 

What is the Role of the Ethics Executive?

 

• For appointees in public bodies, the ethics executive is always the chair of the public body.
• For employees in public bodies, the ethics executive is the person prescribed in regulation (or the chair if no one is prescribed).
• Employees and appointees are responsible for notifying their ethics executive if they wish to engage in activities requiring an authorization to engage in other political activity.
• In regard to political activity, an ethics executive is responsible for:

 

• responding to requests for an unpaid leave of absence
• approving applications for unpaid leaves of absence
• answering questions about the political activity rights that apply to an employee/appointee
• determining whether a political activity conflicts with the interests of the public body
• referring any matter to the Conflict of Interest Commissioner

 

• Employees and appointees must comply with any direction given by their ethics executive or the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.

 

 

 

 

*A list of public bodies is provided in a regulation under the PSOA.

 

This information is provided as a convenience only and should not be relied on as authoritative.

 

For the authoritative text of the law, see the official volumes and office consolidations printed by Publications Ontario.