Information & Ethics committee  I would simply add that in the lobbying regime, it was a code of conduct; it was not enshrined in law. In our piece of legislation, we actually have a definition of what a conflict of interest is. It's giving an opportunity to a member. So the concept of just an appearance or an

Information & Ethics committee  But we're not investigating the lobbying.

Information & Ethics committee  That would be the code.

Information & Ethics committee  I understand that you are referring to the gift rule, “might reasonably be seen to have been given”. So we're not talking about a conflict of interest.

Information & Ethics committee  Now we're talking about a very particular rule with respect to gifts.

Information & Ethics committee  The words are “that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence”. That's the test we go by.

Information & Ethics committee  It's if it “might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence”.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Good morning. The commissioner shares your concern about those suites possibly being available only to a certain group of individuals. That's why we launched the investigation. However, we quickly realized that that location was rather popular and that people had access to it if

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm not sure what you're hinting at. Usually, in the case of a fundraising activity, the riding association handles everything. All the funds and all the contributions go directly to that constituency. In addition, the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that. Rules are rules as they are written. Dealing with lobbyists is perhaps not right, but it's not covered in the code. We only looked into whether Mr. Dykstra had received a gift. If you're telling me that the mere fact of having a con

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, but he paid for the suite, just like all the other non-profit organizations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It is available to organizations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As part of the discussions it held about changes to the definition of gifts, the committee talked about the fact that volunteering should be removed from the definition since you trust volunteers, which is totally natural and acceptable. We had some doubts, in the Dykstra case a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, possibly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Consistency.