Information & Ethics committee  I agree with Commissioner Dawson's approach on that. It doesn't need to specifically be added to the definition of conflict of interest. We don't have the terms in our legislation, and our system works very well. Our act provides me with all the tools I need to give the advice th

Information & Ethics committee  If I understand your question correctly, and correct me if I'm wrong, I can only take complaints from members about another member. If in fact a member releases that information publicly before I even receive it, is that political? Even before the party who's being complained abo

Information & Ethics committee  Sure. First of all, I think it's important to understand that in Ontario a benefit is also considered a gift. I certainly have the same concern Commissioner Dawson has. There's a serious misconception of the gift rules in Ontario. The rule in Ontario is that a gift valued at $200

Information & Ethics committee  As I indicated, I've been at this now for a long time. When I came into this job I was not involved in politics in any way. I knew about it, I voted, but that was the extent of it. This has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about what you go through, what your job is about,

Information & Ethics committee  I think what I'm trying to do is develop their trust in me, and I think absolutely it's important that a member have trust in me, because they're coming to me with sometimes very personal issues and are not sure where it's going to go. If I don't have that trust, they're not goin

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely, in certain circumstances, depending on what has gone on, but certainly if I'm investigating a complaint and somebody says that I found that they could do this and it was fine, and I didn't say that, or they only release part of my opinion that shows the good side of t

Information & Ethics committee  It's just meeting with the elected members. The only time we meet with political staff in ministers' offices, over which we have jurisdiction, is if they want to come in about a conflict issue or post-employment.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me here to speak about the work of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario and the Members' Integrity Act. Today I want to provide to you an overview of the main features of Ontario's legislation and the activities of our

Information & Ethics committee  You're right that I don't have any investigation powers, but we do receive complaints, and we have established a process where I will notify the alleged lobbyists. I will try to educate them as to what the rules are, as well as the complainants. However, whatever the alleged lobb

Information & Ethics committee  In Ontario we don't have the ability to issue those penalties. It is something we're looking at, and what the appeal mechanism would be is not determined yet.

Information & Ethics committee  I would agree with Mr. Odsen. I think it's absolutely essential that we are able to do what's necessary to conduct an inquiry if necessary. If we didn't have it, it could be detrimental to our ability to carry out our responsibilities.

Information & Ethics committee  Obviously I don't have any powers of investigation at the moment. One of the things I've relied on very heavily is moral suasion, and it's worked very well in Ontario. However, that's not to say that it's the right answer. It's the best I can do under the circumstances. However,

Information & Ethics committee  Under the Members' Integrity Act in Ontario I have the power to investigate a complaint right up to a public inquiry; however, we haven't resorted to that since 1989. So I think Commissioner Casgrain is absolutely right that we need whatever it takes to get the information we nee

Information & Ethics committee  Here is one of the things we are seriously considering in Ontario. Lobbyists are required to terminate a registration within 30 days of ceasing any activity. Some lobbyists just don't do it and they don't renew either, and we send them three or four notices to remind them. I then

Information & Ethics committee  Although I don't have any powers to issue monetary penalties, I do believe that referring an issue to the OPP in Ontario because somebody filed three days late is a waste of its time, and I think it's much better handled to give the commissioner the discretion as to what should b