I think the act provides for six appointed assistant commissioners. In the past few years we have had five and they are regionally located. I don't think anyone questions the role they play in communicating some of the Grain Commission issues. They certainly provide an increased awareness in their respective regions for some of the work that the Canadian Grain Commission is doing, and they provide a mechanism for complaint resolution. Producers come to the assistant commissioners to deal with some of their complaints.
The Canada Grain Act is not very clear on what the roles of the Canadian Grain Commission are. One of the challenges is that the activities of the assistant grain commissioners and how they perceive their roles can vary from one region to another. There's probably some merit in looking at that as we move forward.
COMPAS has put forward the suggestion that there be an office of grain farmer advocacy. I think it's one method of dealing with the issue. Obviously, the current structure is another way of dealing with the same issue, and there are probably other methods out there.
I think your concern is a genuine concern and one that needs to be considered. If we are making a change to the structure, we want to make sure we are not in any way putting producers at a disadvantage by putting forward a new structure.