In terms of the second part of your question, I am aware of the reforms and I think they've gone some distance. But I also know that the Prime Minister said that he would make deputy ministers accountable to committees of Parliament, and he has not done so, and there's a fight going on between the public accounts committee and the Privy Council Office, which I assume has the backing of the Prime Minister, over the protocol to apply. I'm also aware that the lobbyist registration rules are not quite what the Prime MInister promised.
Now, you're asking me what I think would help. I think one thing that would help would be to keep lobbyists out of playing any political role in Ottawa. We've already looked at the question of campaign funding. I think they should be kept out completely of any political role, including any role on the media.
I think there should be no ability for anybody who's registered as a lobbyist to say that they have any special access or any influence with the party in power, that the party in power has any debt to them. You should not be able to say the Conservatives are in power and you know which lobby firm you should engage when the Conservatives are in power. I think there's a legitimate role for the industry, but that role should be based on expertise, on knowing the way governments operate, having a large rolodex of officials; it should not be based on, “So-and-so was in the war room” or “So-and-so ran the buses for the campaign”. I think that would help, in addition to cleaning up the system.