First of all, I would like to apologize. I thought that, initially, our questions had to be addressed only to Mr. Marcoux, rather than to the three witnesses. I had other questions.
If I may, I will answer Mr. Lukiwski. This is indeed a bill comprising technical and other amendments. However, when there is a desire to expedite the process, the director of political appointments can be appointed before the committee holds its first meeting. But when the issue is making decisions regarding Bill C-11 from the previous session, apparently we have to wait for the committee to do its work. This means the study of this bill is really a two-tier process. A number of amendments and sections raise a great many questions. I will give you two instances where, in my opinion, the opposition can demonstrate its willingness to do constructive work in a very practical way. But first, I have some questions for our witnesses.
Can the Integrity Commissioner be proactive, or does he have to wait for a complaint to be submitted? For example, the Auditor General of Canada investigated the sponsorship scandal, and found that funds had been misappropriated in one department or another. So we had to wait for the November 2003 report. If there had been an Integrity Commissioner at the time, could the Integrity Commissioner have initiated any action? In my view, the bill as it currently stands does not allow him to do so.
I have another instance that I would use to show Mr. Lukiwski why we have to study this bill so carefully.