Government Operations committee  This section in the Public Service Employment Act has been in existence for a long time. But during that time, the Conflict of Interest Act has been passed, and it contains provisions for people who hold public office. For them, the provisions of the Public Service Employment Act and the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act conflict a little.

Government Operations committee  It is fairly common for administrative tribunals to have this type of protection for members, in fact. If they make a decision of some kind that someone's not happy with, that someone shouldn't have access to suing them because the decision was wrong. It's that kind of thing. There's a process of review that has to be followed.

Government Operations committee  Some of those 400 positions are associate deputy minister positions. And the act provides for the appointment of associate deputy ministers. But because a department has grown over the years or because there is no provision in the act, there is a need for something like this. Traditionally, associate deputy ministers, which are very high-level positions, are appointed by the Governor in Council.