Lobbyists should be prohibited from doing work with government departments they are lobbying, and from having business connections with anyone who does such work. The business tax deduction for lobbying expenses should be eliminated. Contingency fees, whereby lobbyists are only paid based on whether they succeed in their lobbying effort, should be banned. Parliament should pass a Code of Conduct for all MPs and Senators, including strict ethical rules such as requirements to disclose, and in some cases divest from, investments and interests that they, their spouses, and their dependents hold. The Code is needed to prevent MPs and Senators from acting as lobbyists for private interests.
Every province has an ethics code that applies to every member of the legislature.
All Codes of Conduct should contain stringent restrictions on gift-giving to public officials and employees, especially by lobbyists. Every Canadian province and territory already has an independent ethics enforcement system with strong investigative powers and public reporting. Lobbying and ethics rules should include a general anti-avoidance provision to prevent people from exploiting any loopholes. Such a provision is currently in place in the Canadian Income Tax Act . An appeal to the Federal Court should be allowed for all Ethics Commission rulings.