Thanks very much, Madam Chair.
Through you to our witnesses, my thanks to them for appearing today to help us as we work on our review of the code.
Through you, Madam Chair, you mentioned, Mr. Dufresne, that you reviewed the recommendations made by the commissioner last week and didn't have specific recommendations. I'm not sure if you had the opportunity to also observe or review the transcript of our meeting. There was a great deal of discussion on two items in particular, and I'm just wondering if, through the chair, you could give us your interpretation or recommendation.
One is with respect to the definition of “family”. There was a great deal of discussion on the definition of family. If it's extending to first cousins, for example, or to nieces and nephews, we can see that the further you extrapolate, the more challenges that will present for members even in wanting to comply with the spirit of the code and being unable to do so. Also, I think one of the members raised this for their brother; they're not comfortable seeking their brother to disclose their financial dealings or personal interests. By virtue of that, it would be hard to say that the dealings of their brother would impact their ability to do their job. Obviously, more clarity is needed there. Certainly, it needs to be clear.
The other item that I'm wondering if you wanted to speak to if you have a moment is the question of the threshold. There was talk of a threshold of $30 or $50, or of $170 for a painting or up to $200, as to whether it is acceptable or it is not. The context was that of gifts from people who lobby us or in having a ticket to an event or food at an reception. I think it's really important that we have robust rules that ensure the integrity of members and their ability to discharge their duty as parliamentarians, but we need to set members up for success, as people who want to comply with the spirit of the rules and want to be transparent. We don't just want to catch people out. I think that's important.
On the question of the threshold for gifts, and also on the question of family, I would be interested in your advice to the committee, through the chair, based on our discussions to this point.