Information & Ethics committee  I am bound by the way the law is written right now. I'll do what I can to look at the facts of the case and apply the law as best I can. It was a priority back in 2012. One of my recommendations will be to eliminate it. I can tell you that across the country there are a few pr

Information & Ethics committee  I don't know that I can, because it's in the regulations right now.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. We cannot name everyone who's in the room. That is an amendment that should be made.

Information & Ethics committee  However, I don't have the flexibility to change that. It's in the regulations.

Information & Ethics committee  Possibly, but right now the registry is not set up for that, so it would require some changes.

Information & Ethics committee  Certainly, the bigger ones are in the area of transparency, and yes, removing the word “arranged”, I think, is not a big change to be made in the law. It would certainly enhance transparency, because right now the obligation is only to report monthly those communications that are

Information & Ethics committee  In a perfect world, all of our investigations would be done jointly, because, honestly, very often it's the flip side. I worked in that office for six years, and obviously, you can come out with two reports that will have opposite findings. Of course, in a perfect world, again, i

Information & Ethics committee  However, my office has no jurisdiction over the Aga Khan, because he's not a lobbyist.

Information & Ethics committee  His foundation is, but if you look at the report, there's no indication the foundation was involved in the gift-giving. Those were the facts we were working with.

Information & Ethics committee  I agree with you about websites. Finding a way to reach out to Canadians is important. It's something we're still thinking about, but I will tell you, in all sincerity, that, before we can reach out to Canadians, we have to reach out to parliamentarians, MPs and senators. We've

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely. I've already started working on it. I was asked in December whether I could be ready for the spring, so I knew it was coming and I've been working with that in mind. I'd like the review to address a few main themes. How can the act be amended to improve transparency

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Knowing that it might get under way in the spring, I couldn't really commit to extensive consultations. I started with the basics, with the commissioner's recommendations from 2012. I started there and, then, I examined the issues as they've evolved since. I'm also really re

Information & Ethics committee  I can tell you that the transition was organized incredibly well. When I arrived, the team welcomed me with open arms. I had five or six briefing books to read, which I did. The appointment of a new commissioner had been expected for a while, so the transition was really quite sm

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much. Good morning, Mr. Chair, and good morning, members of the committee. This is my first appearance before you as Commissioner of Lobbying. I want to let you know that I feel quite at home in my new position. The staff has been most welcoming and supportive si