Information & Ethics committee  I think there are certainly many aspects of what's in those guidelines that could fit quite nicely in this act. I note that those guidelines came about, I think, as a result of my Raitt inquiry. That's why I say the reports on some of these investigations are very important, even

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not going to comment on the Prime Minister's behaviour. I make the comment that there are a lot of worthwhile rules or suggestions in those guidelines.

Information & Ethics committee  Not quite. It is not a conflict of interest. However, we are wondering about what is happening, and it is of course a concern. In fact, it is not just a question of conflict of interest. The issue is broader than that. The idea is to find out what kinds of political activities

Information & Ethics committee  Possibly.

Information & Ethics committee  It is up to everyone to decide and make comments on that. The implementation of the Prime Minister’s guidelines is not part of my mandate. However, I have a lot of opportunities to comment in my investigation reports when the document is not successful, under the Conflict of Int

Information & Ethics committee  I don't have the mandate to enforce that particular document. However, in a number of my reports following investigations, I have made reference to the various rules and noted that they might be relevant. I've also suggested that there are certain portions of those guidelines tha

Information & Ethics committee  There could be one or two that I might look into if I had other information that indicated that there was a possible problem. However, I'm not going to open a file on every single one of them if there's not some indication of how they would fit under my act. If a member comes w

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not surprised that questions are being raised about it. I can read you the section in my act, and it's extremely circumscribed. I don't know if you want to hear it, but it's there in section 16. There's not much to it. Do you want to hear it? Okay. “No public office holder s

Information & Ethics committee  On these two issues?

Information & Ethics committee  As I recently pointed out publicly, some of the ideas in the Prime Minister's document can be included in the act. Moreover, subsection 15(4) of the act states: (4) Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts the political activities of a reporting public office holder. W

Information & Ethics committee  For the most part, I think we quite agree on what the legislation should contain. The federal system is one of the most advanced, but the systems of some provinces, such as British Columbia, Ontario and possibly other provinces, are quite good. However, our rules are pretty much

Information & Ethics committee  I cannot think of any. There are probably little things here and there, but many officials from other countries come to see me to discuss our system. I think it is one of the best.

Information & Ethics committee  I think it is very important to be as transparent as possible. I do not see big changes on the horizon because I think the system works well. I myself am in favour of telling the public this as much as possible, but with some limitations. That’s the approach I prefer.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  I mentioned most of them earlier. The strength of the organization is probably the most important one. I also worked very hard to promote a better understanding of the act and the code. I am very proud of my reports. I work very hard to examine all the aspects I have to consider