Thank you, Mr. Mayrand, for coming. We have immense respect for you because the obligation to ensure accountability in the electoral process is the cornerstone of democracy. I must say, you seem like a good and serious guy, but I'll tell you, all members of Parliament live in fear of having Elections Canada phone and say they haven't signed off on this form or that. You are thorough and hold us very much to account.
I'm interested in your comments today. It's incumbent on members of Parliament, especially members of the ethics committee, to be able to differentiate between legitimate issues and specious claims for investigation. For example, my colleague Mr. Del Mastro has been raising a ruckus about advertising at conventions. I was wondering if he fully understood the rules. I went to your Elections Canada site, and I found it very helpful. There is a fact page. It's like convention spending for dummies. It asks if it's legal for a “corporation, trade union or unincorporated association [to sponsor] an event held by a registered party, including a convention, or otherwise buy visibility at such an event by holding, or paying for, a reception at the event or providing or paying for signs, flags, pens, notepaper, etc. advertising the entity”.
The answer you provide on your facts page is that there is nothing wrong with that as long as the entity pays full commercial value, not less or more than what is legitimate. Is that true?