As I told your colleague, confidentiality is essential to making the system work. The current system is based primarily on people's good faith. People explain the problem, and we try to find a solution. Then we give advice, and people follow it. In every case, the act requires that some of the information be made public. The rest is confidential.
One purpose of the Conflict of Interest Act is to ensure that an individual is not in conflict of interest. Another is to encourage experienced people who have the necessary skills to seek and accept public office, and another is to facilitate exchanges between the private and public sectors.
We have two goals: to facilitate exchanges between the public and private sectors. With respect to the trip in question, our job was to ensure there was no conflict of interest. That is possible only if the interaction between our office and the individual is completely confidential.