Information & Ethics committee  It doesn't affect the number of investigations I do, because there's a team around me. My problem this year is that three of the six people on my investigation team are on parental leave, which has had an impact on compliance numbers.

Information & Ethics committee  It depends on the field. Certainly for investigations, we like someone who not only has investigative experience, but more importantly analytical skills and abilities. However, if we're looking to hire someone on the communications side, where there's currently only one employee,

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, indeed.

Information & Ethics committee  As I explained in my opening remarks, we made 123 presentations in the past year. Our team is very small. We give a lot of advice, we do a lot of customer service. A team of five employees works directly with lobbyists to make sure they understand the plan and help them register.

Information & Ethics committee  To do that, we would need not only additional funding, but also expertise in the area of national security, which we do not have.

Information & Ethics committee  Personally, I would not want to have that mandate. Under the Lobbying Act, lobbying is a legitimate activity that must be transparent. Keeping a foreign agent registry is not a very positive step, more like the opposite. The approach and the objectives of the two registries would

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  It's to ensure that there is no perception of conflict of interest and a sense of obligation from the public office holder to the lobbyist.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't know if they have a motive, but certainly if sponsored travel is offered, there's a reason for it. If they plan on lobbying afterwards, there would be a cooling-off period.

Information & Ethics committee  That's correct.

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely. I do receive some.

Information & Ethics committee  No. They're informed that I will review the matter, and if it concludes in a report to Parliament, they'll be made aware at that time.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, and I know what you're referring to. It's that trip in July of last year. Do I have time to speak to that matter? Would you like me to speak to that matter?

Information & Ethics committee  I did receive consent from CIJA to speak to this issue. As you all know, the new code came into force on July 1. In May, they did ask me if I could suspend the application of the code for the month of July in light of the fact that they had two trips already organized. I did n

Information & Ethics committee  You're going to have to let me do my work because the code only applies to lobbyists who are registered to lobby the federal government. The code does not apply to someone who's not registered to lobby any one of you. That's the first step.