Information & Ethics committee  It should be a sliding scale. It should be based on your power and it should be specific to who you could lobby. You might be a low-level staffer who is a great friend of the Prime Minister's. It doesn't much matter that you're low-level. It's [Technical difficulty—Editor] and it

Information & Ethics committee  Well, regarding more change to the current code, currently if you are involved in significant campaigning or any fundraising, then you have to sit out past the next election to match the five-year cooling-off period after you leave public office before becoming a registered lobby

Information & Ethics committee  No. Secret lobbying will only be stopped when the act is changed to close all of the many loopholes that allow for secret lobbying. Mr. Thurlow had said earlier today that if someone did secret lobbying it would be illegal. That's not true at all. If you're not paid to lobby, th

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, if this rule sticks and other political work goes through as is, I believe it actually violates the Charter of Rights of the 17.2 million voters in Canada who are not paid lobbyists. They have a right under the Supreme Court's several rulings, to democracy, to democratic goo

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Clinical psychologists have tested tens of thousands of people worldwide and all humans have been influenced by even small gifts or favours. If someone does you a favour, you feel a sense of obligation—unconsciously, actually—to return the favour. Doctors were given free sa

Information & Ethics committee  Small gifts have influence.

Information & Ethics committee  As I said, clinical psychologists have studied this. Read Dan Ariely or Robert Cialdini, who is the guru of influence. The number one way to influence someone is to do a favour for them or give them a gift. That's why, when you're at a restaurant, your server gives you some min

Information & Ethics committee  It works because that's what humans do: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It's the golden rule. It works everywhere.

Information & Ethics committee  The former Commissioner of Lobbying, Karen Shepherd, who used to disclose in a chart the cases that came before her, found more than a hundred lobbyists guilty of violating the lobbyists' code, but she let them all off. She didn't issue a report to Parliament. She let them off wi

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. It has to be manageable to be fair. It would be an administrative burden on the commissioner, but the blanket five-year cooling-off period was extended to all MPs and their staff because of the scandal involving a former MP back in 2010. It shouldn't have been extended to ev

Information & Ethics committee  Sure. Parliament's in violation of the Lobbying Act by failing to refer to this committee or another committee the review of the Lobbying Act for the last 10 years. It's supposed to be done twice. It should be reviewed, and one of the things that should be put in is that the Com

Information & Ethics committee  Of violating the Lobbyists' Code?

Information & Ethics committee  Administrative monetary penalties should be put in place, like the Commissioner of Canada Elections has. The Commissioner of Lobbying has called for them. It should be on a sliding scale, and I believe in the concept of ability to pay, so it should be higher if you have a higher

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, if you want to discourage violations, then the penalty has to mean something.

Information & Ethics committee  There should be disclosure that the public official has disclosed it to someone outside of the government. Really, they're the ones who are supposed to be upholding the public trust and respecting the confidentiality of information, so they should pay the highest penalty. If som