I would agree with your concern about independent watchdogs if there had been a better historical record of Parliament holding people to account. I use the example of ethics enforcement. Prime ministers have not held their ministers to account on ethics. George Radwanski was not found accountable in any way by Parliament, despite what he did and despite that he's now facing criminal charges.
So parliamentarians have not done the job--I'm sorry--for 139 years. We need independent watchdogs who are fully empowered and who, hopefully, will have the attitude to do the job, which we're still missing, certainly, in the ethics enforcement area.