Information & Ethics committee  We are ready to work with the committee on the review of the Lobbying Act. I've proposed 11 recommendations. These are preliminary. I want to hear what people have to say. I'm listening, and I'm looking at the reactions. There might be more recommendations, or we might tweak the ones we have submitted to you based on your feedback and your questions.

Information & Ethics committee  We have a team of 28, with a very big mandate, so we're already extremely efficient. Working from home has probably helped us to be more digitized, with electronic signatures and being paperless. These are all very good things. We are extremely productive, but at the end of the day, their productivity in the circumstance of working from home has a cost.

Information & Ethics committee  That's an interesting question. I don't think I hear complaints from lobbyists. They abide by it. There are 6,000 people who are registered. I've heard a couple of grumblings since I tabled my recommendations, but I usually don't hear.... It's quite the reverse. In fact, I often get a nice email about our client services team and how people are there to help them in making sure they can register and fill out information.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm sorry, but I didn't hear the end of the question. Was the question if it is urgent? I didn't hear the last part of the question.

Information & Ethics committee  When I appeared on my nomination back in November of 2017, I was asked to be prepared for recommendations on the review of the act by the spring of 2018. It's been three years since then, so I think it is very important that we seriously look at reviewing the Lobbying Act. If we wait until 2022, it will have been 10 years since it was looked at.

Information & Ethics committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. I believe this is the first time we meet. Committee members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on the main estimates. I am pleased to speak to you about my office's accomplishments over the past fiscal year and our plans for this one.

Information & Ethics committee  That will certainly scare people. Absolutely.

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely.

Information & Ethics committee  I do not want to talk about specific cases. I can't. I really can't.

Information & Ethics committee  What I will tell you is that our investigations, our preliminary assessments and everything we do, we do extremely thoroughly.

Information & Ethics committee  It has to register if it meets the 20% threshold, yes.

Information & Ethics committee  The requirement to register is that you're paid by somebody to lobby about something so that your company will benefit. If that happened—

Information & Ethics committee  I can tell you the only time...and it has happened. I've ceased an investigation, because the law permits me to do so. It's when it becomes extremely clear that we began possibly under a false assumption. For example, we'll start an investigation because we believed someone arranged a meeting.

Information & Ethics committee  No.

Information & Ethics committee  If all they're doing is selling a product, because it's a contract issue, then no. If they're meeting with you to try to get you to develop a program or policy or want to talk to you about a regulation you're working on or legislation you're working on, then yes. If they're selling products, then no.