I'm sorry I had to be out of the room for part of your presentation, but I have been looking at your brief, sir, and I appreciate both the tone and the content. I accept your view that you should have had input and consultation in the development of the process.
I would point out that some of the items I see within your brief are things that should be viewed as ongoing, continuous improvement, and that we shouldn't have to wait for a bill to come along to engage in this continuous improvement of our management practices. I think it would be catastrophic to the viability of this bill if we stopped now to undertake some of the recommendations here, such as commissioning an empirical study of all current performance reporting systems. This is work that should be done, but I argue it should be done on an ongoing basis.
This is because we've been studying many of these things for 10 years. Some people would say we're studying this issue for 40 days. In actual fact we're studying it for a very generous period of time compressed into a few short weeks. But on many of the issues, we know what needs to be done. By stopping in our tracks now and even backing up to undertake some of what you're recommending here, such as engaging public servants in a wide-ranging debate on the issue of ministerial and deputy ministerial accountability.... That would be interesting, but it's like the question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin when it comes to the hard, fast, concrete measures we're trying to get through here.
In this limited window of opportunity in this minority Parliament, we want to show some real results, because there are people who don't want this bill to succeed. There are enemies of this bill who are lurking in the wings, as it were, trying to sabotage and undermine the progress of this bill. One of the most effective ways to kill it would be to engage in a study, to continue hearing witnesses into next spring, and then, come election time.... Believe me, in a majority government, you would not have the opportunity to make these concrete steps.
Wouldn't you agree that it would be important to get the three pillars in place: whistle-blower protection, access to information reform, and a cleaning up of the patronage appointments practices? If we achieved those three things in this minority Parliament, wouldn't that be something to celebrate?