The minister's discretion is there to take into account the policy considerations that should underpin a regulation to look at the context, domestic and international, to look at what other jurisdictions are doing, not just domestically but in terms of key partners, the United States in particular, and to make sure that Canadian industry is not penalized. It is also a measure that is necessary in terms of managing behaviours that may not be appropriate.
I find it interesting that some of the comments were made in terms of a recognition that perhaps there needs to be discretionary power when it comes to safety regulation because there are certain imponderables. Interestingly, again, as a policy wonk, I would say those imponderables also exist when it comes to making policy, and the agency is an administrative body that implements and follows through. It is not a policy body that assesses and evaluates in the same way that the department and the policy group there does. In the sense of the minister having the economic right, it would be fed by recommendations and advice in terms of the constituents and stakeholders, the needs, the requirements, the international context, and then the proposal with respect to a regulation.
