OTTAWA—Nicola Di Iorio sleeps five hours a night, but he says that’s enough to keep his motor going overtime — which is exactly what he has to do. For not only is he the federal representative for some 114,000 Montrealers, he maintains a side hustle as an active litigator who co-manages a gaggle of labour lawyers at a firm in Quebec’s biggest city.

The Liberal MP for St-Léonard—St-Michel is, in effect, moonlighting as a labour lawyer, making him one of the few members of the House of Commons who have declared income from second jobs since the 2015 election, according to a Star analysis of records published on the federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner’s website. In Di Iorio’s case, he also teaches classes at a local university, volunteers for three non-profit organizations, and is writing a book on labour law.

“MPs ought to keep something that grounds them in the real world. Ottawa becomes quickly a bubble,” Di Iorio said over the phone this week.

“Obviously, being elected entails a crucial duty towards the 114,000 people that I represent. There are some moments where I absolutely have to be there,” he added. “The one group that pays the price is my family. The others, they are all well served.”

Questions about MPs who get paid for other jobs while they hold office have come up in recent weeks, after another Liberal MP — Brampton East’s Raj Grewal — came under fire for inviting a construction executive, whose company pays him for legal work, to hobnob with Justin Trudeau and other high-ranking officials during the prime minister’s trip to India in February. The federal ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, has given Grewal until May 4 to respond to allegations that this broke parliamentary conflict of interest rules, and has indicated that the circumstances “meet the criteria” to consider an investigation.

But those rules don’t prevent MPs who aren’t parliamentary secretaries or cabinet ministers from getting paid for second jobs, Dion’s spokesperson, Margot Booth, explained. For those inside the executive branch of government, the MPs that work with the prime minister to propose laws to the rest of the legislature, stricter rules contained in the Conflict of Interest Act prevent their participation in outside activities. The rest of the MPs, however, are subject to a different, less restrictive set of regulations outlined in the Conflict of Interest Code, which allows elected representatives to get paid for second jobs as long as they don’t use their office to advance their own private interests or those of someone else.

The Star pored over the record of each MP in the commissioner’s online public registry and found that 152 of 338 members in the House of Commons have declared additional sources of income since the 2015 election. Most of it comes from rental or farming properties, dividends on investments, and pension payouts from previous careers. A smaller group of 12 MPs, however, have declared “employment” or “business” income from private sources in the past two years, including from law firms, construction and land surveying companies, a management service organization, and a chain of department stores.

The Star reached out to each MP’s office with questions about these sources of income. Three agreed to be interviewed, two responded by email, one declined to comment and six did not respond to the questions.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of the ethics watchdog group Democracy Watch, said MPs need to be “extremely careful” when engaging in paid work outside their duties as politicians. Controversies have erupted before the Grewal affair, including allegations that Trudeau used his prominence to enrich himself by charging thousands of dollars to deliver speeches at private events when he was an opposition Liberal MP five years ago.

Others have worked to keep up professional credentials, such as Conservative MP Kellie Leitch, who practised as a pediatric surgeon and received an exemption to continue practising medical work while she was in cabinet during the Harper era.

Conacher argues the law needs to be changed to include a clear “job description” for MPs that would outline how many hours per week they should devote to their duties on Parliament Hill. A similar proposal was floated in the United Kingdom, where a 2015 study by Transparency International found that 73 of the country’s MPs received more than $6 million during the previous year for external advisory roles, something which the authors said posed “a significant risk of conflicts of interest.”

“They’re serving the public and the public is paying their salary and the public has a right to know what they’re doing — all the time,” Conacher said.

Di Iorio argued that it’s wrong to think of a “zero sum” calculation, where if an MP participates in activities outside parliamentary life they’re detracting from their value as an elected representative. In his case, he said, being a lawyer enriches his intellectual life, makes him more of a keen participant in House duties, and provides income that means he isn’t beholden to his position as an MP.

“The worst stuff that can happen to me is if I lose an election is that I get a substantial pay raise,” he said. “If I’m not doing (legal work), then my sole focus has to be my re-election. But in my case, it’s not my sole focus … I am able to consider the interest of the greater good.”

In terms of conflicts of interest, Di Iorio added that he takes on only those cases that involve private entities, like unions and their companies, and uses a different cell phone for matters outside his political work.

Scott Reid, a Conservative MP from eastern Ontario, said he also makes sure to keep his private work separate from his duties in the House. He is a senior executive for Giant Tiger, a chain of stores his father founded in 1961, and was appointed vice-chairman of the company in January.

Reid explained that an MP’s job includes 26 weeks per year when the House is in session, which leaves more free time than most jobs, especially when a politician becomes more experienced and familiar with the requisite constituency work — helping resolve difficulties with passports, pensions and a whole range of other government issues — and partisan activity.

“This kind of balancing act would not be possible in practice — nor would it be permitted by law — if I were in cabinet,” he said. “Nonetheless, there are practical considerations relating to juggling one’s time.”

For Erin O’Toole, a former cabinet minister and Conservative MP from Durham region, the current rules ensure that people from different backgrounds — from prairie farmers to lawyers and wealthy business owners — can enter politics without abandoning the activities of their previous life. O’Toole worked as a lawyer before he was elected in 2012, and briefly worked for the firm Norton Rose Fulbright last year before deciding to run for his party’s leadership. He said he may try to find another firm to work a second job, so that he has something to go back to when his political career comes to an end.

“In my case, the longer I’m away from active service and the longer I’m away from those clients, the bigger chance you have to start from scratch,” he said. “If you follow the rules to the letter, then I think you’ll be fine.”

The 12 MPs who have declared “employment” or “business” income from private sources in the past two years:

Frank Baylis

Riding: Pierrefonds—Dollard

Party: Liberal

Job: The Quebec MP has disclosed his involvement in 16 organizations. He is the director of five numbered companies and at least six other firms linked to the Baylis Medical Co., according to his disclosure, last reviewed in July 2017. It indicates that he receives “employment income” from Baylis Medical, a large multinational corporation that makes medical technology.

Explanation: Baylis said he was president of the company until he stepped down to run in the 2015 election. Now he sits on the board of advisers, which gives direction on how to run the company, he said. Baylis said he puts “a few hours every week into it” at night and on weekends, and keeps it separate from his duties as an MP. “There’s great value that I derive from keeping it real, if you will,” he said. “People sometimes say policitians are lost in their own world.”

Sukh Dhaliwal

Riding: Surrey—Newton

Party: Liberal

Job: Dhaliwal receives “employment and professional income” from Dhaliwal and Associations Land Surveying Inc. The B.C. corporate registry indicates that Dhaliwal is the president and secretary of the company, which is based in Surrey.

Explanation: Dhaliwal did not respond to questions about his job for the company; when contacted by the Star on April 6, his office said he would be travelling abroad until April 14.

Nicola Di Iorio

Riding: St-Léonard—St-Michel

Party: Liberal

Job: Lawyer

Explanation: Di Iorio, who has worked as a university professor and a labour lawyer for more than three decades, was first elected in 2015. He remains active as a litigation lawyer at the Montreal firm Langlois Lawyers, which pays him “business income,” according to his ethics disclosure. In a lengthy interview with the Star, Di Iorio said he uses his own time and resources to complete this work, which is considerable: he still manages a team of 30 lawyers at the firm, and he even went to court to argue a case this month. He’s also writing a book on labour law. Di Iorio argues this activity doesn’t detract from his duties as an MP; he claims to have considerable energy, and said his legal practice keeps him grounded outside the Ottawa bubble. “I feel good practising law. It satisfies me more than watching TV,” he said.

Ted Falk

Riding: Provencher

Job: Construction company president

Explanation: The Manitoba MP is the president and chief executive of Diamond Ready Mix Concrete. Falk has declared “employment income” from the company, and expects to receive “business income” and interest from a shareholder loan to the company this year, according to his disclosure. Falk did not respond to questions about this job from the Star.

Rhéal Fortin

Riding: Rivière-du-Nord

Party: Groupe parlementaire québécois

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Job: Lawyer

Explanation: Fortin’s ethics disclosure says he received “employment income” from a legal practice until at least October 2017. Fortin, the former interim leader of the Bloc Québécois, declined to comment when contacted by the Star.

Raj Grewal

Riding: Brampton East

Party: Liberal

Job: Lawyer

Explanation: According to Grewal’s ethics disclosure from Jan. 16, he will receive “employment income” from two entities — Gahir and Associates and Zgemi Inc. — through the course of this year. Opposition MPs have called on the ethics commissioner to investigate Grewal’s ties to Zgemi after news emerged that the Brampton MP invited the CEO of the company to events with Justin Trudeau and other cabinet ministers during the prime minister’s trip to India in February.

Kellie Leitch

Riding: Simcoe—Grey

Party: Conservative

Job: Board of Trustees for Dream Office REIT

Explanation: While many other MPs are involved as board members or directors of organizations outside their parliamentary work, Leitch stood out because she disclosed “board retainer and trustee grant” income from her role on the board of Dream Office REIT, a real estate investment trust. Leitch did not respond to questions from the Star about her role with the trust.

James Maloney

Riding: Etobicoke—Lakeshore

Party: Liberal

Job: Lawyer

Explanation: Maloney said he receives income from his partnership at the Toronto law firm Hughes Amys LLP, where he worked as a civil litigator for almost 20 years before he was elected. He’s still involved in a select few files with long-term clients, but said none of them involve the government. The situation was cleared with the ethics commissioner, he said, and the work is too minimal to interfere with his duties as an MP, which he called his “full-time” job. “There’s really no magic to it,” he said.

Phil McColeman

Riding: Brantford—Brant

Party: Conservative

Job: “Employment income” from P. Walker Corp.

Explanation: The MP told the Star that “this is not a job.” Instead, it relates to how he is a shareholder that owns a “real estate/rental property investment.” He said he spends about an hour per week of his own personal time dealing with this investment. “The very few resources (home office) that are required are completely separated from my parliamentary resources,” he said.

Erin O’Toole

Riding: Durham

Party: Conservative

Job: Lawyer

Explanation: O’Toole said he no longer does any job outside his work as a member of Parliament, but his ethics disclosure from last year noted that he received income from Norton Rose Fulbright. O’Toole explained that the law firm he worked for before he was elected no longer exists and, after the Conservative defeat in 2015, he wanted to establish a “relationship” with a law firm that could take his old clients and hold a place for him when his political career ends. But he walked away when he decided to run for the Conservative leadership, and doesn’t work for the firm anymore. Still, he said he may try to find another home for some legal work so that he can maintain his credentials. “It is something that, if the right place is there in the future, I might do,” he said.

Scott Reid

Riding: Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston

Party: Conservative

Job: Vice-chairman of Giant Tiger Stores Ltd.

Explanation: Reid’s father, Gordon, founded the chain of department stores in 1961 and remains the company chairman. In January, Reid was appointed vice-chairman, a role he cleared in advance with the ethics commissioner, Reid said in an email. He maintains an office next to his father’s at the Giant Tiger headquarters in Ottawa, and devotes “considerable personal time” to the company, particularly on weekends and holidays, he said. He is able to do this because his riding and the company are within an hour’s drive of Parliament Hill, but he has stepped away from his Giant Tiger work in the past, during more intense periods in the House. He said none of his office resources are used for Giant Tiger, and he routinely consults with the ethics commissioner to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

David Tilson

Riding: Dufferin—Caledon

Party: Conservative

Job: President of ET Management Services

Explanation: Tilson did not respond to questions from the Star.