“Is it reasonable to think that somebody can be influenced with a small gift?”

Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has expressed that he intends to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps when it comes to advocating for improvements to the federal Conflict of Interest Act, though he has some different ideas about specifically what needs to change. Dion, the Liberal appointee who is just over a week into his new job has  said that after digging into the numerous changes former ethics czar Mary Dawson recommended, he thinks “there are a few clear areas where it would clearly benefit from being amended.”  Dion said he respects the work Dawson did over the last decade and he doesn’t intend to “demolish” what she’s accomplished.

“Unless there is a good reason to change something, we will not change things, however we have to adopt to the times and things will continue to evolve. The needs, and the technology for instance, is a front on which we will make changes,” he said.

Dawson had advocated in the past for any gift over $30 to be declared, but Mario Dion isn’t so sure.  “Is it reasonable to think that somebody can be influenced with a small gift?” said Dion. Testifying at the committee last week on her final report — in which she found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in contravention of multiple aspects of federal ethics rules — Dawson touched on the topic of amendments. In Dawson’s view, the current gifts from friends  provision should be removed because it often leads to confusion. Dion agreed that the wording around friends, who are and who aren’t, should be clarified. “I will have to think about what’s best to propose,” Dion said.