Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. But again, that's not my bailiwick, and it would be a parliamentary decision.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, may I congratulate you on your re-election as chair of the committee. I thank the committee for the invitation to appear before you today. I look forward to working with all of you. I understand that most members are new to this committee. I am ple

Information & Ethics committee  There's no differentiation about who you receive them from, but if you're talking about the act, there's a $1,000 limit. Under the code, there's no limit. Then there are different limits for reporting.

Information & Ethics committee  The sponsored travel is dealt with completely separately and it's just a matter of reporting the amount. Yes, there's no limit.

Information & Ethics committee  I can't really comment, because it is a matter of policy, but one comment I suppose I could make is that as far as I'm concerned, disclosure is more potent than anything else, and at least it has to be disclosed.

Information & Ethics committee  I have no examples of recusals in that area at all.

Information & Ethics committee  Generally speaking, I find that Canada has relatively more stringent rules than other countries in these areas, but I actually have not looked into the question of sponsored travel. I could do so if you would like me to.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. It's significantly higher now. I'm just in the process of gathering those figures. We're not at the end of this fiscal year yet, but we're in the process of gathering them for our next annual report. But I can say that we've put a huge effort on the 60-day and the 120-day de

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. I inherited this office a year and a half ago, and what you're referring to is the fall-out from the previous office. As I said, one of my first priorities was to get the timelines into shape, and I think we've done so. Definitely, when I came in I found there was a lot of b

Information & Ethics committee  It's mainly stocks and investments. It's just the cost of the trustee to administer those investments. What I found was that some people weren't claiming anything for those and other people were claiming. We have guidelines on our website, and some people claimed more than the

Information & Ethics committee  I did apply the act to everybody who was covered by the act. That's the short answer. There were some changes from the code to the act.

Information & Ethics committee  No.

Information & Ethics committee  That's right. I'm having trouble hearing the questions. I'm sorry, but that's why I'm answering you in English. It's because I'm getting the English. If you'll excuse me....

Information & Ethics committee  The main changes in the code are probably the application of investigations beyond ministers and parliamentary secretaries to anybody covered by the act. That's probably the biggest change. The other is the possibility of applying penalties under the act. That did not exist befor