Information & Ethics committee  —because it would be inappropriate for me to do so, one of my recommendations is exactly that, about the significant part of duties. To me, if you have one conversation and that conversation is a registerable activity, it's lobbying. You should have to register, period. The calculation of how many times someone talked to somebody and how long they talked, and whether that meant that it was a significant part of their duties, is an exercise that organizations and corporations have to do.

Information & Ethics committee  Well, anyone who lobbies, in my view, should be registered. Once they are registered, they are subject to a code of conduct. The code of conduct specifically says that lobbyists should not be putting individuals with whom they have a relationship into a position that creates a sense of obligation.

Information & Ethics committee  My answer to that would be that we change the act. We need to amend the Lobbying Act.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm currently preparing our annual report. Over the course of the year, the lobbyists we've contacted have said that all parliamentarians have been very accessible. Lobbyists had to change the way they worked, and they held a number of meetings with the Zoom platform. These meetings had to be recorded in the Registry of Lobbyists, because they were arranged in advance and oral presentations were made.

Information & Ethics committee  If I may, I'd like to add that many public office holders have already contacted me with concerns about these meetings with lobbyists. While there is no obligation, I will tell you that people have integrity and are committed to transparency. They let me know when they believe something has happened.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  Right now the act requires them to register. It's a requirement for someone who's paid either as a consultant or as an in-house lobbyist. However, if someone chooses to put their name forward transparently to say that they've lobbied, whether they're paid or not, there's nothing in the registry that would stop someone from being able to do that if they wished to do so.

Information & Ethics committee  I think it would be inappropriate for me to try to interpret that statement and then try to transfer it to the Lobbying Act. The Lobbying Act says that anyone who is paid as a consultant or is an employee must register. That's what the act says.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Over the past year, we've been able to make it a little easier to access the registry. People can now use a mobile device, while they used to need a computer. We've made improvements, but we have more to do. We always listen when people ask us to improve this or that or get rid of something irritating.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much for the question. Currently, the Lobbying Act does not require members of the House or any other designated public office holder to take notes or learn about lobbyists. However, I strongly recommend it. When you're scheduled to meet with people, ask your staff to check the registry.

Information & Ethics committee  The Office of the Commissioner is there to regulate lobbyists and the communications they have with you. Should there be a requirement in the Lobbying Act that you take notes and give them to me when I contact you? If you haven't taken notes, what can we do? Do I have the right to investigate that?

Information & Ethics committee  I can tell you that the team was absolutely thrilled to see that these funds were given to us in the budget. We are in the process of finalizing the submission. For this year the amount is about $620,000 and for subsequent years the amount will be $780,000. We will use the funds to hire five new employees.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you for the question. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing my employees in person. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to it. People have found ways to work from home, despite all the challenges that come with it, especially for those with young children.

Information & Ethics committee  Do you mean to allocate resources to the implementation of the recommendations or to allocate resources to do the review? It cut out again.