The CBA doesn't have a position on individual cases, but the CBA has made recommendations that I think will address, Madam Chair, a lot of the concerns raised by Mr. Martin.
We believe that giving the commissioner the power to impose administrative monetary penalties will ensure that lobbyists who breach the code.... Mr. Martin has referred to a former member of Parliament who breached the code and there was no sanction except for a report in Parliament, and now the commissioner would be able to impose monetary penalties.
I should add that in the jurisdictions that allow for administrative monetary penalties to be enforced, they're not a few hundred dollars. I believe the statutory limit in Alberta and British Columbia is $25,000, a significant amount. That's the first comment.
The second is that removing the 20% rule, removing the 20% threshold, will make it easier to see who is lobbying and who is not, and therefore who is breaking the law or who is lobbying without being registered and who is not. It will also make the five-year ban more easily enforceable.
The Canadian Bar Association, as an institution, has long upheld the rule of law and the administration of justice. We believe that giving regulators like Karen Shepherd, the Commissioner of Lobbying, the tools the regulators need to enforce the act, and to ensure there are sanctions for violation, is the way to address that concern.