Thank you, through the chair, to both the witnesses for being here.
To our honourable former colleague Mr. Jordan, with whom I share the distinct privilege of having represented the greatest constituency in our beautiful country, Leeds—Grenville, now known as Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes, I'll quickly express my appreciation for his continued support of United Way Leeds and Grenville, specifically through the golf tournament that bears the name of my predecessor, Gord Brown, who, like Mr. Jordan, did a great deal to support causes in our community. I really appreciate that ongoing awareness and what it does for the people in great need in our community.
Through the chair to Mr. Jordan, thank you very much, sir.
I'll ask my first question of Mr. Jordan.
With respect to shortening the ban for former designated public office holders—I perhaps inferred that from your comments, if you didn't say it directly—how would you balance that with the need to maintain confidence against the perception of a revolving door?
There is a pejorative connotation to the term “lobbyist,” though there is advocacy that is done for organizations like the United Way, which I mentioned, as an example.
Is someone advocating on behalf of the United Way akin to someone lobbying or advocating on behalf of a petrol company or a pharmaceutical company? Is it one-for-one the same?