Carson sentence prompts critic to urge steeper fines, but lobbyists say the system works

Ethics watchdog pushes for larger fines, warning small, insignificant penalties undermine credibility of the Lobbying Act.

Bruce Carson, an aide in former prime minister Stephen Harper's office, leaves court after he was fined $50,000 for illegal lobbying on Nov. 4, with his lawyer Patrick McCann, right. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

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BY MARCO VIGLIOTTI

November 9, 2016

An ethics critic is calling for a review of the penalties in the federal Lobbying Act after former prime ministerial aide Bruce Carson was slapped with a $50,000 fine last week for lobbying while under the five-year cooling-off period, an amount significantly less tha...

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