Information & Ethics committee  I'm aware of most of the facts that you are referring to today. I always look at things. I also work with lobbies to ensure that they understand the code's obligations.

Information & Ethics committee  I won't confirm any of that. Those are conversations I have with any individual. If I believe that I need to be proactive in ensuring compliance, I will do that. Very often I open a preliminary assessment and go from there.

Information & Ethics committee  The numbers just skyrocketed. That's the number of individuals who communicated with our office to ensure that the code was understood. Incredibly, there were a lot of calls from members of Parliament with respect to sponsored travel, which led me to do that one-pager I sent to e

Information & Ethics committee  It's all of the above. When someone registers to lobby, we automatically offer an outreach session. Very often they take us up on it and they'll be one on one with our advisers. Then we will send emails to groups or organizations that we see may not be registered and ask whethe

Information & Ethics committee  I never really put much thought into the name of a company. I look at their actions and then decide whether or not it fits my—

Information & Ethics committee  I think it's in the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's report. I think it was between $15,000 and $20,000 for some of them, if I recall correctly.

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly. It was an exemption just for the month of July in light of the fact that the trip had been organized ahead of—

Information & Ethics committee  I told them the cooling-off period would be up to two years in light of the amounts.

Information & Ethics committee  This is a code of conduct; it's not law. I did inform them in writing that there should be a two-year cooling-off period. That cooling-off period—

Information & Ethics committee  It was “must”. It would be two years for the individuals who would have gone. You are correct that there was a monthly communication report last February for a meeting that would have occurred in January with one of the members of Parliament who accepted a trip. CIJA advised me

Information & Ethics committee  Yes—well, it was inadvertent. All members of Parliament who were part of the mission had been invited. This particular member did come to the meeting, and he should not have been there.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't regulate any one of you. However, I did send to all of you a one-pager about the impact of sponsored travel on all of you, so I would suspect he received that information.

Information & Ethics committee  Mr. Aitchison could not be in breach of my code. The code applies to lobbyists.

Information & Ethics committee  That you would have to ask Mr. von Finckenstein. I don't know.