Information & Ethics Committee on March 9th, 2026

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I would like to move on to another important topic.

Based on your response to Mr. Cooper, do I take it that the office of the Leader of the Opposition includes people covered by section 128 of the Public Service Employment Act? Subsection 128(1) states that a minister, or a person holding the recognized position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons or Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, may appoint an executive assistant and other persons required in his or her office.

Do you see this as an issue for lobbying, given the considerable influence that it can wield in the public arena?

[Nancy Bélanger]

The public office holder status of people working for the office of the leaders of the opposition is currently set out in the regulations. It isn't in the act. It's set out in regulations adopted in 2010.

I've been told and received confirmation that no one in this office is appointed under section 128. The public is under the mistaken impression that these people must submit communication reports. The public thinks that the people in these offices are appointed under section 128, but that isn't the case. They're appointed under the regulations governing members of Parliament.

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Did you yourself come to the conclusion that these people aren't appointed under section 128, or was this brought to your attention?

[Nancy Bélanger]

I asked for confirmation. I deal with many people who tell me that they filed a monthly communication report and received the message that they weren't appointed. I contacted the office and received confirmation that no one is appointed under this act in these offices.

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

When you say office, do you mean the office of the official opposition?

[Nancy Bélanger]

Exactly.

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Did a member of this office confirm this to you?

[Nancy Bélanger]

Yes.

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I can't ask you whether an investigation took place to verify whether these people were appointed under the section in question. I understand that the office staff simply confirmed this based on their own understanding of the situation.

[Nancy Bélanger]

I can tell you that we check the monthly reports every month. Every month, I contact your offices, the senators' offices, the ministers' offices and the department offices. I ask whether this communication has actually taken place. I receive confirmation that these people don't fall into the category of designated public office holders because they aren't appointed under section 128.

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Okay.

[Nancy Bélanger]

I was asked this question recently. I wrote to the office to confirm whether anyone was appointed under section 128. I was told—

[Abdelhaq Sari, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Does this include the staff of the leader of the official opposition?

[Nancy Bélanger]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Sari.

This brings the first hour to a close.

Ms. Bélanger, do you need a break? Can we continue?

[Nancy Bélanger]

It's fine. We can continue.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Mr. Hardy has the floor for six minutes.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

The discussion is quite compelling. Thank you, Ms. Bélanger, for joining us today. It was about time for a review of all this.

I would like to ask a broader question. You told me earlier that over 9,000 companies engage in lobbying.

Can you find out who funds them?

Do you have the power to ask them where the funding money comes from? This could cause issues.

[Nancy Bélanger]

First, the figure is 9,000 lobbyists, not 9,000 companies. An organization can have more than one lobbyist.

The Lobbying Act requires companies to disclose the funding provided by various levels of government, from federal to provincial to municipal.

That said, they aren't required to disclose the funding received for lobbying purposes, for example. This came up in one of my recommendations, because the provinces have this requirement. However, there currently isn't any obligation to disclose this.

I don't need this information for an investigation. I don't think that I've ever had to ask for it.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

You said—and I really agree with you—that transparency is extremely important. People are losing confidence in our institutions. They sometimes believe that public office holders give themselves advantages.

It seems useful to know that private companies fund lobbying firms, which then obtain contracts. It could also be useful to know that companies manage to get them contracts. I'm talking about Canadian companies, but this could also apply to foreign governments. It seems that this information is quite useful.

[Nancy Bélanger]

Yes. It would be helpful. It's one of my recommendations. Consultant lobbyists are currently required to disclose any entity that carries out lobbying activities or that has an interest in lobbying.

Employers, including corporations and organizations, are under no obligation to disclose the source of funding for lobbying activities. This could become an obligation. In the provinces, the disclosure threshold is $1,000 for anyone who gives more than $1,000 in funding, or more than $750 in Ontario.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

There isn't anything like this in Canada. However, it would be extremely helpful for you.

Is that right?

[Nancy Bélanger]

Yes indeed.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

If you see a problem, you start an investigation. You said earlier that the only thing that you could do was to transfer the case to the RCMP.

Do you find that you have power? Many commissioners have come to tell us that they exist and that they're supposed to remain a bit above the government and to make sure that public office holders do their jobs properly in matters of ethics, lobbying and access to information. Most of the time, they tell us that they don't have enough funding or power.

Do you think that you have enough power to do your job and to ensure public confidence?

[Nancy Bélanger]

I have enough power to carry out investigations. However, the issue lies in the subsequent accountability. I find that I don't have any power when it comes to the outcome of the investigation. I can't talk to you about it. That's tiresome.

For example, I would like to be able to say that a certain thing constituted an offence and that I imposed a penalty if it were minor. You should know that not all offences are equal in terms of seriousness. I would like to be able to tell you that this situation will become a matter of public record and that we'll then have a chance to talk about it.