Information & Ethics committee  It was revised in 2013, but there was no change.

Information & Ethics committee  The amendments date back to the last election, in 2021.

Information & Ethics committee  Can I just add to that? Please be mindful that all advice provided by our office is confidential. You can call our office at any point in time. It is strictly confidential. We will not publish or comment on any of this information publicly.

Information & Ethics committee  As most of you are aware, there's the review process that all members and reporting public office holders have to go through on an annual basis. That is an excellent opportunity for members and public office holders to have an exchange with their advisers and ask questions or be

Information & Ethics committee  I would say yes, definitely. I spoke about the quarterly report. In it, there are some statistics as to how many people participate in the training sessions we offer. Levels are getting pretty high. People want to learn more about the rules, the application and our interpretati

Information & Ethics committee  As most of you are probably aware, the members' code was modified last June to include a mandatory training session for all new MPs. Therefore, within 120 days following the publication of their name in the Canada Gazette, a member has to have training with our office. We have ac

Information & Ethics committee  As you probably know—or you may not know—every quarter, we publish a report. It's a status report of the activities that we've engaged in in the last quarter, over the course of the year. On the engagement side, we have been very proactive with reporting public office holders—and

Information & Ethics committee  There were no decisions required by a commissioner on this particular file. Essentially, it was based on information. The cooling-off period had lapsed. Therefore, there were no rules that required a decision. At that point, the adviser went back and communicated that the rules n

Information & Ethics committee  Under the Conflict of Interest Act, as I mentioned previously, we do not look at perceptions of conflicts of interest. The act is quite specific that conflicts of interest must be either real conflicts of interest or opportunities, so potential conflicts of interest.

Information & Ethics committee  The act is a good-faith system. When we look at sections 33 and 34, the office has to be provided with information to the effect that those two sections are being violated or have been contravened. We can't speculate and say, “Oh, because this person accepted a position at that c

Information & Ethics committee  It's the same thing under the Conflict of Interest Act. We interpret the act as it is written. It was legislators who determined, for example, that sections 33 and 34 are the only two that continue to apply after a cooling-off period. Sections 33 and 34 are quite specific. It's i

Information & Ethics committee  Based on the situation that we have before us, I would say yes.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't recall the specific file, unfortunately. However, as I've mentioned, if a public office holder contacts the office, we examine the file, we review all of the information that's provided and we provide guidance and advice based on information that has been obtained eithe

Information & Ethics committee  According to the former commissioner, whose role was equivalent to the current Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, as soon as a lobbyist is involved, a gift is unacceptable. You should therefore pay for any entry fee, your meal or anything else when a registered lobbyis

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly; that's the test you're expected to undergo: can you reasonably think that the meal was paid for with a view to influencing you? In circumstances when MPs have had, or expect to have, dealings with an organization or an individual, they should not accept that kind of gift