For example, the finance minister might have investments in a Canadian bank, and could intervene to raise interest rates. He or she would benefit from the increase in bank profits, but because the move would benefit anyone invested in Canadian banks, the move wouldn’t be deemed a conflict of interest, says Sommers.
Collenette says that government can often foster a culture of entitlement, which sometimes makes it hard for even the most principled politician to recognize when they’ve had an ethical lapse.
"I often think that [politicians] don’t actually know there's a conflict of interest. Sometimes they do know and they decide to skirt around it, and in my opinion, that’s probably what's happened to a couple of these senators," says Collenette.
"But recognizing that conflict of interest — and I'm trying to be very fair — it can sometimes be difficult."
But while there has been much talk about parliamentary ethics, there has been little will so far on Parliament Hill to reform the system. Democracy Watch says that MPs were to review the conflict of interest code in the spring, but the study was abandoned without fanfare.