I was watching the release of the Gomery report the other week, and I thought to myself: How does something like this start? What causes this kind of behaviour?

Well, I can’t answer for the whole system but, I can give you an example of how lobbyists try to influence people like me. (For the record, most lobbying is on the up and up, people stating what and why they support or oppose certain legislation.)

Late last week, my office got a phone call. Would Mr. Trost like to attend a NHL hockey game (Senators vs. the St. Louis Blues)? He can have a free ticket to a corporate luxury sky box, courtesy of a large corporation. They even offered to pick me up for the game.

Now, you need to understand that I’m on the House of Commons Industry Committee, and most of the legislation that affects business comes through my committee. There is nothing illegal in accepting the ticket. Being that they were under $200, I don’t even have to report the gift.

But I knew that I wasn’t getting the tickets because I’m a great sports commentator. The company wanted to influence me in their direction on key issues. So I refused them even though I would have loved to go.

Now, I know that it is not fashionable to mix religion and politics, but the Bible has a point when it says: “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (Some politicians have problems with the verse that says “Thou shalt not steal”.) I just didn’t like the way it looked. It could have led to a favor being asked of me in return someday. In the end it is better to be on the safe side.

I’m not saying I’m perfect or that the other MPs who went to the game did something wrong. I’m just saying we would have a lot less corruption in Canada if everyone went the extra mile to keep the lobbying of government completely clean in both deed and appearance.

I’m Brad Trost, your MP. I welcome your comments and feedback.