Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  In looking at those particular events, you're correct in that I look at it from the lobbying perspective. Is lobbying occurring? Looking at it from the act, did lobbying occur? Is it properly reported? Then I look at the code of conduct for lobbyists to ensure they have abided by

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, I've provided...and I have the guidance with me if you'd like a copy. I've said some activities are fine, like posting a sign, donating. For other activities, it's almost like the more involved you are, so organizing a fundraising event.... In the report I referred to in my

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you for the question. It's difficult to summarize eight years in three points. First, as I said in my remarks, I'm very proud to have established an independent agency of Parliament and to have created three programs during my mandate. I'm very proud of the professionalis

Information & Ethics committee  The code was strengthened. In my experience—

Information & Ethics committee  The lobbyists want to comply with the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct, as clearly demonstrated by the many calls we've received from people who want clarifications. As I've always said, for the continuum of compliance measures and breaches of the act we need to

Information & Ethics committee  Education is very important. Further investments must be made in education so that more can be done in that area. As I said in my remarks, everyone must understand their responsibilities with regard to the Lobbying Act. To that end, we've started looking at how we could use socia

Information & Ethics committee  Good morning Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I am pleased to be here today to speak about my mandate and experience as Commissioner of Lobbying. I have been part of the federal lobbying regime for 12 years, and the deputy head for eight years. It is an honour to be the

Information & Ethics committee  Some of the consulting firms have representatives who are doing the lobbying for them, so when rules change or they have a new client, they have to verify the information. There have been a number of calls because of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct. We've been doing a lot of out

Information & Ethics committee  It's not a static group, so people are coming in and out all the time. If you want, I can look a bit more into some of these questions, but we have 8,000 lobbyists going in and out at any one time.

Information & Ethics committee  The registry is my prime tool for ensuring transparency of lobbying activities. As I said, when my budget was cut in 2012, I took the 5% cut with the registry and put it into maintenance mode. This is not sustainable in the long term. I need to be investing in development of the

Information & Ethics committee  Well, when I made the decision, we had a very strong and robust system, so we've been able to continue. People have been able to register, and we've been able to make sure that the system is functioning. There haven't been major downtimes or anything. The concern, though, is wh

Information & Ethics committee  As I've always said, I take all allegations seriously. I regulate the lobbyists, as opposed to the public office holders. One of the reasons for revising the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct was that there are now four specific rules on dealing with conflict of interest. I have provide

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you. First of all, the offices were together, and they were separated after a court case found institutional bias happening between the two offices because the same individual on charge was found to be responsible for both the Conflict of Interest Act and the code of condu

Information & Ethics committee  Is this in terms of the fundraising? I just want to make sure I have the right section.