Information & Ethics committee  The commissioner is an administrative tribunal. She's a quasi-judicial office already. She is judging. She is enforcing the law. She is finding people in violation. If you have an apparent conflict of interest standard, you must either have a regulation that says what it means,

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, but I was just going to say that one of our recommendations is an honesty in politics rule that applies in the House, in Parliament, before parliamentary committees, everywhere. It's one of the biggest things that is needed to clean up this spin-counterspin and these false a

Information & Ethics committee  No, and to be very clear, we're not calling for investigations to be made public, just the final ruling. If the final ruling is that the person was not guilty and the complaint was not filed in a public way, then the final ruling doesn't have to name who was complained about, but

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, that's fine. I have no problem with conducting these inquiries and examinations privately, but there has to be a ruling at the end. There are 83 situations that were complained about or that the Ethics Commissioner became aware of in the last five years, and we don't know wh

Information & Ethics committee  —but again, I'm not talking about naming anybody, if they're found not guilty.

Information & Ethics committee  You can't stop false accusations. There is libel law, so that's one protection you have. You can sue someone for libel. If you have the Ethics Commissioner—

Information & Ethics committee  I don't really see any conflict there. Do you mean right away as opposed to having to sit out for a time?

Information & Ethics committee  If they had had significant official dealings with them during their last year of office, which is what the rule is, they wouldn't be able to for one or two years. Otherwise, I don't really see how there would be a conflict with that, when to work with an entity like that.

Information & Ethics committee  Going and working...?

Information & Ethics committee  Actually, in that area she's issued a guideline that's multiple pages, very detailed, and gives lots of examples. I think the area of gifts, actually, that guideline, is the most defined line in the act currently, because of this guideline that the commissioner issued several yea

Information & Ethics committee  There's one other area, and it's set out in the act. The commissioner has not defined what it means, but you're not allowed to take improper advantage of your former office. I have sympathy for anyone who has left the public service and is covered by that rule. They don't know wh

Information & Ethics committee  Training is important. There should be training right up front. There is a meeting once a year that everyone, or a member of their staff, has to attend with the commissioner just to update things, but there should be some up-front training. Principles are fine, but they're so va

Information & Ethics committee  When they're leaving office, and then what they're doing through their entire cooling-off period so that she can tell them whether it complies or not with the conditions of the cooling-off period. But as Lori—

Information & Ethics committee  In a free and democratic society, the democratic part trumping the free to go and do whatever—

Information & Ethics committee  No, but it is done elsewhere. Again, Oliphant strongly recommended that the commissioner know and needs to be able to have approval because the cooling-off period is part of your public service. You're still covered by the act through that period. Also, some of the rules apply