I think it's important to enhance or strengthen the Commissioner's role in terms of their powers and penalties. That said, the principle of proportionality has to be taken into account. If the goal is a very strict regime that imposes penalties for criminal offences, it would be best to drop the notion of the appearance of a conflict of interest and target conflicts of interest objectively.
When it comes to Canadians' trust, I recommend that committee members take advantage of caucus meetings and those of other committees to suggest to their colleagues that other means of protection could be enhanced or strengthened when pressure is put on decision-makers.
A foreign agent registry needs to be put in place, and the Access to Information Act needs to include political advisers.
As I mentioned, the registry of lobbyists needs to include the contacts of all members of Parliament and senators. I find it really sad that the last government didn't modernize the Canada Elections Act. As members of Parliament, you can ask your leader to backtrack and pass the legislation that will strengthen the powers of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.
As I said earlier, the Conflict of Interest Act is very important. It can be improved. It's important not to forget that it's one of the tools we have to defend our democracy.