Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Dawson, I had previously been a member of the committee and I am now here again. I am also the chief political organizer for my party. A week ago, I asked you for an opinion. The name of one of my MPs was drawn by the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada. She was given 50 policy coverages that she could give to an organization in her riding. The policies were intended to help accident victims, especially victims of fire. The names of five members were drawn. I asked for your opinion, and you said, among other things, that the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada is an organization registered as a lobbyist. You wrote me the following:
Therefore, given the IBAC's role and its relationship with MPs, the provided policy coverages [...], even when awarded through a draw, could reasonably lead one to believe that they were provided with the purpose of influencing the member in the fulfilment of her public duty. For those reasons, our office believes that [member's name] cannot accept this donation on behalf of a non-profit organization in her riding.
I take no issue with this opinion. However, I read the Dykstra report, which states that MP Dykstra asked Ms. Bonnell for access to the Rogers Centre suite. Ms. Bonnell is a registered lobbyist. You said so yourself. In your conclusion, you said that you could not intervene because a fundraising activity was involved. It appears to me that if my MP were to give those policies away as part of her fundraising activity, it would be legal. Something's off about that, and I'm having a hard time accepting it. I can accept the letter that you wrote me regarding my MP and the fact that she cannot receive policy coverages from a lobbyist and then give them to an organization in her riding, but I am having trouble accepting your report conclusions. You said that Mr. Dykstra, who spoke with Ms. Bonnell, a registered lobbyist, in order to get a Rogers suite, had the right to do that because it was related to a fundraising activity. Unless you tell me that my MP could give those coverages away as part of a fundraising activity, there is something here I don't understand. This actually doesn't come under your jurisdiction. I am just trying to understand.