Thank you, Madam Chair.
I read the testimonies of Professor Hogg and Professor Gélinas on this point quite skeptically. They persuaded me in the end that this was probably on the right side of the Constitution at the moment. But they both pointed out that to the extent this bill becomes more explicit and reduces the discretion of the Prime Minister--as indeed I would wish it to do--we move into a grey area where we get closer and closer, if not actually over the line, into an area where we absolutely need a constitutional amendment.
That's why I ended my presentation by suggesting that the committee and the House make this a better bill. Then--as the Senate committee also suggested--before it's finally passed, refer it to the Supreme Court as a reference. The Supreme Court can clarify this issue, about which there's considerable debate at the moment, of exactly where Parliament is able to act alone to improve the Senate and where it must have provincial consent.