When the act came into force in 1995 or 1996, the members of this committee acknowledged the vague and ambiguous nature of the words “significant part of the duties” of a lobbyist. They decided to give the registrar—now we would say the Commissioner—the authority to interpret what this meant. It was a start.
We decided to draw inspiration from the United States, where the “significant part” of the duties amounted to 20%. Over a one‑month period, this 20% equates to 32 hours.
However, since I've been coming to this committee, I've wanted the act to change. In my opinion, it was really time to lower this threshold. I lowered it to eight hours. I think that it's reasonable to consider this number a “significant part of the duties” of a lobbyist. Those are the words used in the act. That's why I lowered the threshold.
I gave interviews to the media. One person wrote to congratulate me on my excellent initiative, but said that lobbying activities should be limited to one hour. I completely agree with that person. However, I must comply with the wording of the act.