Mr. Speaker, I had the great honour to report back to Parliament an amended Bill C-43. I think it represented a most historic moment in Canadian parliamentary democracy. I believe it has improved parliamentary democracy. The process we adopted in this particular bill improved democracy greatly.
Bill C-43, an act to amend the Lobbyists Registration Act, was tabled by the Minister of Industry on June 14, 1994. As members know, it was immediately referred to our subcommittee, before second reading. That is before agreement in the House on the principles of the bill. I believe it was one of the first bills in Canadian history that has taken advantage of this new parliamentary procedure.
These new procedures have allowed a committee of backbench members of Parliament, including opposition members, to take a government sponsored bill and amend it to its liking with basically no restrictions on how far members of Parliament could change the tabled legislation. All the members of Parliament really tested the new procedure.
As chairman of the committee, I am very proud of the report we used and the powers we were given. Some of my colleagues feel they want more power. They wanted a greater opportunity to make changes. We listened very carefully. We worked as a team. I believe we produced a very good report.
I was very impressed by the wide-ranging and open discussions of the various views expressed by all members of Parliament. We had over 75 witnesses who testified before our committee last fall and into the winter. We had some very lively debates. We had more than 50 individuals and organizations who also submitted briefs before our committee. At the end of the day, I believe a majority of the committee enthusiastically subscribed to some of the important amendments brought forward by some of our colleagues in the opposition ranks.
I also believe that some of the opposition members came to accept some important improvements proposed by the government side. That is precisely what democracy is about and that is precisely what the new procedures were intended to achieve.
In summary, I believe the experience was very valuable. I encourage the government to continue to use this new committee procedure as often as possible. I believe it can only result in better legislation. By giving members of Parliament a more proactive role in drafting legislation, it can only further the people's confidence in our democratic institutions. I think that fostering people's faith in their government is very much what this process is all about. But as the report was entitled, it is rebuilding trust in our institutions. It presumes that over the course of the last eight or ten years some cynicism has crept into the system by virtue of activities of certain members of Parliament over the course of the last Parliament.
I see the members of our committee here today, and I am very impressed that all members are very committed to making those changes. We listened very carefully to members of both the official opposition and the third party when they put suggestions forward.
Let me summarize some of the key elements. In fact there were 13 specific amendments that I believe the government has accepted for this bill. Bill C-43 as it was originally tabled had improved certain amendments on the lobbyists registration. I believe that our committee made some additional improvements. We significantly enhanced the transparency, which is so crucial in breaking the cynicism that has been associated with the lobby industry. We have significantly strengthened the powers of the ethics counsellor. All lobbyists, for example, are going to have to indicate if they intend to use grassroots lobbying in their attempt to influence the government. This was not in Bill C-43 as it was originally proposed.
Consultant lobbyists will have to indicate if they are paid on a contingency fee basis. This is over and above the ban on contingency fees for lobbying on government contracts. Any organization that lobbies the government will have to reveal any amount they receive from any government. That is an important change.
The ethics counsellor, as part as of an investigation, will have the power to disclose information on fees and disbursements associated with any lobbying activity, not only on government contracts. I am particularly proud of this amendment because I think it gives a significantly enhanced new power to the important role of our ethics counsellor.
The ethics counsellor will not only have to report on the results of his investigations of a breach of the lobbyists code of conduct, but he will have to include the investigative findings, conclusions and reasons for the conclusions. That came out of the spirit of one of our colleagues from the opposition ranks.
Finally, the ethics counsellor will have to make a separate report once a year, which will be submitted to Parliament, on his activities with respect to lobbying.
Our committee has also amended Bill C-43 significantly as far as the lobbyists code of conduct-