Mr. Chair, I agree with Mr. Bigras: creating these positions, whether it be that of Commissioner of the Environment or that of Privacy Commissioner, immediately indicates and sends the message that these are important and fundamental questions for the Parliament of Canada.
That said, does creating that kind of position within an existing organization diminish the importance that Parliament attaches to a question? It is possible not to agree on that point. I think that creating this kind of position in an organization highly respected by the general public can have the contrary effect. The original plan was to give the office the most credibility possible as quickly as possible by establishing it within an organization that already enjoyed a certain amount of respect from the public.
That argument can be used to contend that an attempt was made to reflect the importance the Canadian government attached to it by creating this position within an organization that already enjoyed a certain reputation.