Procedure and House Affairs committee  I proposed additions to those changes, but those changes are okay, yes. Insofar as technical amendments are concerned, I really left those up to Stéphane Perrault to handle, because I really don't have the staff to go through all of this in detail.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Let's start with the parties, and then see how far and how fast we want to progress to individual candidacies. There's no reason why any party represented in the House of Commons shouldn't be under the obligation to do that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Now I see what you're getting at. I think that could work to start. Then we could see how things go. I wouldn't want to take it too far right off the bat. I see the Canada Elections Act as a dynamic statute. We need to exercise care before changing the financing provisions. We

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's a tough question to answer. There was a very significant bill dealing with penalties because they had become so ridiculous that people knew they were useless. The penalties meant nothing. I simply said that the penalties should be severe and equivalent to what used to ap

Procedure and House Affairs committee  With respect to the first one—and this is after a few months of reflection—the notice should indicate who the officials are who will be in attendance and whether the Prime Minister will be there. If not, if the head of a party or the minister's name is not on the notice, then the

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm willing to see what five days gives us in terms of a system. I'm willing to see what that gives us. It's a lot better than what exists.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There wasn't any.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No. Some banks would donate $50,000 or $60,000. It depended on the party. If the party was in power, it would receive $50,000, and the opposition party would get $30,000. Do you see what I mean? They would play both sides and make sure to provide at least some support. All of tha

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. I can give you an example of one country that is important to us: Great Britain. We shouldn't copy everything Great Britain does, because its contribution limit is, in fact, excessive. However, in Great Britain, airtime during election campaigns is free for all parties. Tha

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It applies broadly and is a measure that the federal government should consider. Canada adopted fixed election date legislation, but thus far, adherence to the legislation has generally been the exception, rather than the rule. That has had a warping effect on political financing

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The bill should apply to anyone who helps organize or finance a fundraising event for a candidate or party.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Forgive me, but I didn't understand the question.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It may also be helpful to review the statute on lobbying, and see what it says about these office-holders. I can't remember offhand, but they may delineate office-holders for whom reports must be provided by people who have access to them. That may be helpful as well. I was also

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I am very much so. That's why I'm here.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's deeply touching. Thank you very much.