Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, we make a distinction between gifts and gifts from family or close personal friends. If you have either a grandfather or a father who wishes to pay for something, we consider that a gift within the family, and it doesn't have to be declared as sponsorship.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was searching for an example with which I've had considerable experience, which was talk shows. Not recently, I'd have to say, because I haven't done them, but I've had lots of such experience. It produces an enormous consequence that is unintended by everybody, which is why you try to avoid it in a sensitive place like this.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We might. I hope we learn from experience.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would say that for the current functions the office has, the only place where there is what I would call a gap between the people resources we have and the job is in the area of the inquiries; that is, it is starting to take up more time than we expected and require a different kind of talent from what we had.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We certainly recommend that anything that you, yourself, haven't paid for before or hasn't been paid for by the federal government is part of sponsored travel. It may be half a trip, a quarter of a trip, a trip--whatever. What we're not sure about is how the committee would like us to treat what I call indirect sponsorship by the federal government.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll give you an estimate.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are huge differences from time to time. Sometimes you're doing nothing else for a week except that, and then you don't do it for another three or four weeks. If I were to think of the office as a whole, I would say that somewhere around two-thirds of the resources we have are spent dealing with disclosures and compliance arrangements for both public office holders and the MPs.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Benson.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The disclosure summaries you're talking about. We do not track that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think there are two things. First of all, the code requires certain kinds of information, so it's not a question of whether it's a conflict of interest or not; it just requires that we have to have it, simply because the code requires it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It seems to me the issue of what information we ask for is an issue worth discussing. That's how the discussion went in revising the form, so the form is much smaller than it used to be and requires less information, etc. That's an ongoing matter of discussion. I'm certainly willing to discuss it with the committee and adjust the form accordingly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, the only recommendation I put forward so far is in fact the form that you have with you. That came from us. We worked with the subcommittee and then we developed it and are bringing it forward. It remains to the committee to discuss and decide what they like about it and what they don't and what they'd like to change and things of that sort.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That is correct.