Library of Parliament Background Paper on Appointment of Officers of Parliament

Canada's Library of Parliament recently published a new Background Paper on the Appointment of Officers of Parliament:

"Officers of Parliament are responsible directly to Parliament rather than to the government or a federal minister. This emphasizes their independence from the government of the day. They carry out duties assigned by statute and report to one or both chambers of Parliament."

"There are nine officers of Parliament: 1) the Auditor General of Canada; 2) the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada; 3) the Commissioner of Official Languages; 4) the Information Commissioner of Canada; 5) the Privacy Commissioner of Canada; 6) the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner; 7) the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada; 8) the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada; and 9) the Parliamentary Budget Officer (...)"

"Federally, there is no statutory definition of what constitutes a parliamentary officer. However, the role and function of these officers are distinct from those of other positions such as the Clerk of either house, the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel or the Parliamentary Librarian. The latter officials assist Parliament in procedural and administrative matters, whereas officers of Parliament support Parliament in its accountability and scrutiny functions, and in carrying out other tasks."