Thank you very much.
And thank you to the witnesses for their presentation, for their brief.
I'd like at the outset to comment on one of the things you said initially, which the committee has recognized: that folks working in government relations do valuable work in many cases. I think the committee has also recognized that it's a democratic right. As such, I'd like to think that we've moved forward in a very positive fashion on an act that many witnesses have commented on, saying that largely it's working and is achieving the objective that was set out.
In this statutory review, we're looking at how we can make it better and improve transparency. So I thank you for your very constructive comments in that regard.
I'll start off with a couple of things. First of all, you recommend deleting the requirement for monthly communications. We've had witnesses suggest that this takes a few minutes. To me, it seems that this specific requirement is providing the kind of transparency that Canadians want to see. They want to know, when government makes a decision, who may have been talking to government—whom the government consulted, in some cases. Often the government is asked, “Who did you consult with?”
As you are a group that represents many of the stakeholders that you would like to see consulted on significant pieces of legislation, I think it's important that we are in fact having that pushed out and saying, okay, these groups did in fact meet with these individuals—members of Parliament from all parties, what have you—in the lead-up to this bill or after a bill was introduced.
I think this is the kind of transparency that Canadians want. We've been told that it isn't excessively burdensome.
Why would you like to see this requirement removed?