As the Hogue inquiry has heard, just to start with the second topic, the penalties are too weak. The commissioner of Canada Elections pointed out that the penalties are, in her estimation, too weak in many areas to discourage violations, given what you get to win if you cheat.
Our suggestion is that the committee should take a serious look at a sliding scale of penalties based on the income of the individual, entity or business. If your income is higher, then you would pay a higher penalty. That would be an effective approach, and it's being studied quite a bit in the U.S. All the penalties have been set at arbitrary limits, and they should be set at limits that will actually be effective. However, no one's ever studied that.
Also, in terms of cryptocurrency, yes, it should be prohibited. These cryptocurrencies are essentially set up to allow for money laundering and fraud. They're not a step forward in terms of transparency at all and should be prohibited.