Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured on Jan. 13 in London, Ont., is facing ethics complaints after a family vacation included a stop on a billionaire’s private island in the Bahamas. Photo from The Canadian Press

Canada’s federal ethics commissioner will look into whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated conflict-of-interest rules during his family vacation on a billionaire’s private tropical island — a move trumpeted as a “first-ever” investigation of a sitting prime minister in some media reports.

It’s not exactly the first-ever probe, though.

“It is not the first-ever investigation of a sitting prime minister,” Duff Conacher, co-founder of the group Democracy Watch, told Yahoo Canada News.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper also faced questions from the ethics commissioner along with some of his Conservative cabinet ministers, including a 2009 complaint over Conservative government advertising for the federal infrastructure program and questions over spending announcements by former Tory MP Peter Penashue.

Though it is true that the ethics commissioner has never substantiated any of dozens of complaints filed against Trudeau’s predecessor.

The commissioner has yet to issue a decision with regards to the ongoing probe of Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, for his alleged actions in relation to the Senate expenses of Sen. Mike Duffy.

Trudeau himself already faced questions from the current commissioner Mary Dawson in December over so-called cash-for-access fundraisers.

It is also worth noting that the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner only opened its doors in July 2007, as part of a revamped Federal Accountability Act brought in by Harper.

The former ethics commissioner resigned in 2006 over a dispute with the Conservatives over an investigation into any incentives that may have been offered to MP David Emerson, who crossed the floor from the Liberals to the Conservatives in 2006, weeks after the federal election.

Prior to that, it was the current prime minister’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who first introduced conflict of interest guidelines in 1973 and put in place an assistant deputy registrar general to provide conflict advice to ministers. That position was replaced in 1994 by an ethics counsellor, which was in place until 2004 when an Ethics Commissioner was established, soon to be madeover as the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner we have today.

Dealing with only her second prime minister, Dawson says she will look into the complaints concerning Trudeau.

After first refusing to disclose where Trudeau was over the holidays, the Prime Minister’s Office eventually confirmed he was on the island as a guest of the Aga Khan, a billionaire spiritual leader.

At least two complaints were filed with the federal ethics commissioner by two Conservative MPs: one related to the vacation itself and one related to Trudeau’s use of the billionaire’s private helicopter to get to the island.

While the Aga Khan is not a registered federal lobbyist, he chairs a foundation which is considered a lobbyist group and that has received tens of millions of dollars in federal funding in recent years.

Among the 44 rules in the Conflict Act, public office holders are prohibited from accepting any gift that could be reasonably seen as courting influence. The prime minister is also barred from travel on private aircraft except in “exceptional circumstances.”

The act has come under fire for being a rather toothless piece of legislation: No one can be charged or substantially fined for breaching the rules. The maximum fine of $500 doesn’t even apply to the breaches alleged in Trudeau’s case.

Conacher says a probe into the allegations is necessary but adds it should not be conducted by the federal ethics commissioner. Democracy Watch has called Dawson a government “lapdog,” and has previously launched a letter-writing campaign to press for a review of her office.

The commissioner should not be appointed by the Liberal government, Conacher told Yahoo Canada News.

Dawson’s term was set to end this month, but she was given a $100,000, six-month contract extension last month. She has not said whether she is seeking to fill the role again for the next seven-year term.

“She’s in the appearance of conflict of interest,” Conacher said. “She only keeps her job beyond July if the Trudeau cabinet renews that contract.”

Conacher says the probe should be turned over to an impartial provincial ethics commissioner.

“She cannot be ruling on the Trudeau cabinet right now. I believe she’s in a direct financial conflict of interest,” he added.

Democracy Watch has filed a complaint over the alleged conflict.

“They can’t decide who the watchdog is when the watchdog is investigating them.”