We weren't hiring at the time, so it was a moot point. But it made me uncomfortable that one person could go shopping for the answer he wanted from different officers of Parliament based on the same set of facts. We've seen other more publicized cases than that where designated public office holders—and there's no question that they were designated police office holders.... In the case I'm thinking of, the person worked for a party leader, but they weren't hired under a particular section of the Public Service Employment Act, but by Parliament. Therefore the cooling-off period didn't apply, whereas it may apply to other people in the office. I'm not suggesting it was the right interpretation or the wrong interpretation, but it shows that there is room for different interpretations.
The recommendation on the table from an earlier witness is a maximum five years. From there we're looking at somebody who was—and I'll make it up here—the Minister for Weights and Measures. Maybe you say that the minister had a very narrowly defined portfolio. Maybe that minister can't lobby the bureau of weights and measures for five years. That I think most people would agree with.
Now if you turn to the complete other end of the cabinet table, the department of something that has nothing to do with weights and measures, well, maybe there's room to say, “Okay, one year across everything”. However it's put together, it has to be consistent, and I think it needs to be clear, and it all needs to be done within the Conflict of Interest Act, not spread across two acts.