01307pab a2200133 454500008004000000100002000040245005900060260000900119300001500128362000900143520097100152650001501123773003501138180718b2003   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aThomas, Paul G.  aThe past, present and future of officers of parliament  c2003  ap.287-314.  aFall  aOfficers of Parliament were a little notice feature of Canada's cabinet parliamentary system until the privacy commissioner was forced to resign in June 2003. This article analyses the past, present and future of these institutions, which were created to assist Parliament in holding responsible ministers and the bureaucracy accountable and to protect certain rights of individual Canadians. The fundamental issue is how to balance these offices' independence from both the executive and Parliament with an appropriate measure of accountability for their performance. The article examines five structural features that determine the nature of these interactions and suggests that there needs to be greater clarity in   these relationships. The primary relationship in terms of responsibility and accountability of officers of Parliament should be with Parliament. Reforms are recommended to recognize and to reinforce the primacy of that relationship. - Reproduced.  aParliament  aCanadian Public Administration