Preventing conflicts of interest is paramount because if you don't, you are allowing private interests to trump the public interest and you are allowing corruption. The Supreme Court of Canada said that if the Conflict of Interest Act and other similar laws are not enforced strictly and strongly, we are not a democracy. That's the priority.
You can facilitate and actually incent competent people. Lots of competent people are not wealthy, but the ones who are can still come into public office. It would actually be an incentive because they could cash in their investments without a capital gains tax or with a reduced tax on that, put their money into GICs and government bonds, earn a fixed rate of interest with no conflicts of interest financially while they serve the public.
These people are paid in the top 1% to 5% of salaries in the country. They have one of the best benefit and pension plans. How greedy are they? Do they really want to serve the public? If so, you have to leave your financial interests behind and cut ties to businesses. It's not just by leaving boards but by actually cutting your financial ties, because financial conflict of interest is the most serious type of conflict of interest. This law has to prevent them, prohibit them and penalize them. Otherwise, we are not a democracy.
That's what the Supreme Court has said in several rulings.