Information & Ethics committee  Is this the annual report and the inquiry reports? I'm not sure which reports—

Information & Ethics committee  At the moment, we're totally separate.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. We have nothing to do with the Senate.

Information & Ethics committee  The only thing I can do with respect to an inquiry is if somebody asks me whether a preliminary inquiry has been started, or whether an inquiry has been taken, or whether a request for an inquiry has been given. I am allowed to answer those three questions and that's it.

Information & Ethics committee  Well, as I said—

Information & Ethics committee  Now this is difficult to deal with, so I'll deal with it generally. I cannot comment on any inquiry that I am undertaking in any way, shape, or form, or make any comments about that.

Information & Ethics committee  There are some time requirements that are necessary to follow in the code. One receives a request. One very shortly, within a day or two, gives the person complained against a copy of the request. That person is then allowed 30 working days to respond. Then there's a seven-day pe

Information & Ethics committee  It is ten working days to receive the response. So there's a built-in time lag there of about a month and a half, which comes to about two months when you consider weekends and holidays and things. We were in a holiday period. That's the first observation. There's no way an inqu

Information & Ethics committee  That is an incredibly broad question. I can answer a very small part of it. My role is to interpret and to administer the Act and the Code. Many factors contribute to the public perception of Parliamentarians, but I can control only a very small number of those factors. All I ca

Information & Ethics committee  Generally, I have the authority to make an opinion I have given someone public. I can include anything on the Website with a view to giving opinions. As I said, the problem regarding members is that I need approval from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs befor

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, I can.

Information & Ethics committee  No, because that does not come under my authority.

Information & Ethics committee  I haven't had enough inquiries to tell you that, but it's apparent to me that they probably need two to three months at an absolute minimum.

Information & Ethics committee  It's really very difficult to say because I have not issued any reports yet of inquiries that I've been asked to undertake. So I really haven't gotten enough to say. If you look at the previous administrations, not all that many inquiries and examinations took place. So the jury

Information & Ethics committee  I would say in the order of two to three months, perhaps.