Thank you.
In a paper you published which is entitled Conflicts of Interest and Ethics in Government, you wrote the following:
In effect, the greatest sanction that the commissioners have at their disposal is political condemnation. If the commissioner finds that a member has violated the act, this may result in a political price on the affected member.
We know about this. We have used that in life.
Under a British Columbia act, the commissioner may recommend a $5,000 fine. Moreover—I am now going back to the sanctions—in the United States, people who are found guilty of being in a conflict of interest may be fined or even go to jail.
You said that the current fines of $500 were not very serious since the amount is not very high. You also stated that you do not believe very much in the effectiveness of monetary penalties or fines. However, you suggest that a formal reprimand—that is our translation—be sent to the Prime Minister's Office.
I don't quite understand what you mean by that. To me, a formal reprimand makes me think of a note in my child's schoolbook when he misbehaves in school and the teacher wants to let me know. Is that sufficient? Should there not be much more severe penalties?