Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Shepherd, for coming here today.
I worked as a lobbyist in Ontario for a number of years when I left the provincial parliament. Occasionally I had to make some actions for a client who might have a federal issue, although it was very rare, and when I saw the new act in 2006, I was pleasantly surprised, in fact, at how tough the Lobbying Act was. I had to help train some people who were calling themselves lobbyists, and who wanted to lobby in Ottawa, on what they should actually be doing.
The best example for me is that anyone who has met with a designated public office holder and does not report that by the fifteenth of the next month could be subject to a fine of up to $200,000 and six months in jail, which I think is very tough, and appropriately tough.
Compared to the acts in the provinces and in fact similar acts in other jurisdictions--perhaps the United States, the U.K., or France--how does our Lobbying Act compare in being tough and dealing with the actions of lobbyists?