Information & Ethics committee  The act says that it it is mandatory to disclose gifts or other advantages when their total value exceeds $200. However, there are exceptions. For example, a public office holder would not be obliged to communicate with the office of the commissioner if they receive a gift from t

Information & Ethics committee  In the past, after an election, we always reached out to caucuses to offer training to their members, and some of them did accept the invitation. We do go and make a presentation. Others decline. It's up to the caucuses to make that determination. For public office holders, we do

Official Languages committee  In terms of investigations, it's never happened. For penalties, I believe it's happened once or twice.

Official Languages committee  No. As we said in our initial presentation, once the information is publicly disclosed, people don't want to see their name mentioned in the media.

Official Languages committee  Exactly.

Official Languages committee  I'm not an expert in official languages. However, when we administer our system, we follow a process of fairness in determining the penalty. We consider the history and situation as it is presented. There may have been violations, but they were proven. If an individual responsib

Official Languages committee  In our case, the commissioner issues reports. On our website, we have reports indicating that certain individuals have contravened rules under the Conflict of Interest Act.

Official Languages committee  No, it doesn't go to three or four times.

Official Languages committee  There may be cases where it happens twice. In those cases, the commissioner is of the opinion that the information must be publicly disclosed and that it's then up to Canadians to do something.

Official Languages committee  Indeed, it's to encourage compliance.

Official Languages committee  That's correct. For a first offence, the penalty is $100.

Official Languages committee  That's what allows us to do that, yes.

Official Languages committee  That's correct. For our part, we're limited to the amounts included in the Conflict of Interest Act.

Official Languages committee  In my opinion, I find it hard to imagine that the federal government would be penalized for violations. It must be remembered that all of the money is from the same budget in the end. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages is a government organization. The funds wou

Official Languages committee  But that's my personal opinion.