It's been a year since Mario Dion, Canada's former ethics commissioner, retired. Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett suggested the government delayed naming a new ethics commissioner because it wanted to avoid scrutiny. If the ethics commissioner's position is vacant, the commissioner's office cannot conduct an investigation or initiate a new investigation into the misconduct of members of parliament and other officials. When asked whether he had spoken to officials in the Prime Minister's Office about the appointment or reappointment, von Finkenstein declined to comment. NDP ethics critic Matthew Green also called on the government to quickly name a new ethics commissioner.
