Mary Elizabeth Dawson, is the former Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. She was appointed under the Parliament of Canada Act on July 9, 2007 as the ''

Conflict of Interest Act The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is an entity of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament, who administers the ''Conflict of Interest Act'' and the ''Conflict of Interest Code ...

'' came into force until her term of office came to an end on January 8, 2018.

Early life and education

Dawson graduated with a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1966. She then graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1970. She also earned a Diplôme d’études supérieures en droit (droit public), from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. She is a member of the Nova Scotia and Ontario Bars and retained her membership in her original Bar, the Quebec Bar, until her retirement from the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Career

She joined the Legislation Section of the Department of Justice in 1970 and drafted such laws as the

Access to Information Act Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...

, the Privacy Act, the

Canada Health Act The ''Canada Health Act'' (CHA; ''french: Loi canadienne sur la santé'') is a statute of the Parliament of Canada, adopted in 1984, which establishes the framework for federal financial contributions to the provincial and territorial health in ...

, the Official Languages Act, the Competition Act, the Customs Act and the

Young Offenders Act The ''Young Offenders Act'' (YOA; french: Loi sur les jeunes contrevenants) (the ''Act'') was an act of the Parliament of Canada, granted Royal Assent in 1982 and proclaimed in force on April 2, 1984, that regulated the criminal prosecution of C ...

. Dawson was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1978. She was Associate Chief Legislative Counsel from 1980 to 1986 and Chair of the Statute Revision Commission through most of the 1980s. From 1986 to 1995, Mary Dawson was the head of the

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

Sector, including the traditional public law areas of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

and

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

as well as

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

, native law, judicial affairs, access and privacy law and regulatory affairs. Dawson had a long career with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

and oversaw a wide variety of legal issues from within the

. She retired in 2005 as Associate Deputy Minister, a position she had held since 1988. Dawson played an important role in relation to constitutional matters. She was the final drafter for the patriation package (

Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...

) and, until her retirement, drafted, and was the principal legal adviser for, all Constitutional amendments, including the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gove ...

and the

Charlottetown Accord The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...

. She led the legal team for the

on the Quebec Secession Reference and was responsible for the legal advice on, and drafting of, the

Clarity Act The ''Clarity Act'' (french: Loi sur la clarté référendaire) (known as Bill C-20 before it became law) (the act) is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would ente ...

. Dawson also managed the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Reference on

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

for the Government of Canada as well as the preparation of the related legislation. She advised extensively in the area of aboriginal rights. Dawson was a Skelton-Clark Fellow at Queen's University in 1999-2000 where she lectured in several faculties. She has also published several articles on various subjects. Dawson retired from the Department of Justice in 2005. After her retirement, Dawson acted as a consultant on a variety of projects, in both the public and private sectors. In June 2006, she was appointed to the Board of Governors of the

Ottawa Hospital The Ottawa Hospital (french: L'Hôpital d'Ottawa) is a hospital system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The system was formed through the merger of the former Grace Hospital, Ottawa Riverside Hospital, Ottawa General Hospital and Ottawa Civic Hospital. ...

, and serves on a number of board committees. In 2014 Mary joined the Board of

Help Lesotho Help Lesotho is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2004 by Dr. Peg Herbert. Based in Ottawa, Canada, Help Lesotho is made up of dedicated people, working to help prevent HIV/AIDS in the country of Lesotho, which has the 2nd highe ...

. Dawson has also been involved in a number of international activities, as well as various outreach activities in Canada. She has held executive positions in the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associat ...

and was a Canadian member of the Joint Steering Committee of the Joint Canada-Russia project on Public Administration Reform in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Dawson was named a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2007.

Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

's vacation visit to Bell Island in December 2016 and concomitant helicopter ride on a private aircraft controlled by the Aga Khan raised an investigation by Mary Dawson, insofar as Canadian government ethics rules prohibit a prime minister or cabinet minister from accepting travel on a private aircraft unless prior Ethics Commission clearance is secured. The Ethics commission determined that Trudeau's or his wife and children's vacations to Bell Island in December 2014, March 2016, and December 26, 2016 to January 4, 2017, "could reasonably be seen to have been given to influence Mr. Trudeau in his capacity as prime minister." Trudeau said he was "sorry" for these violations of federal laws.

References

External links

Biography of Mary Dawson

Parliament of Canada Hansard of the appointment of Mary Dawson as Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Mary 20th-century Canadian civil servants 21st-century Canadian civil servants Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the United Church of Canada Dalhousie University alumni University of Ottawa alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Canada Canadian King's Counsel McGill University Faculty of Law alumni