As you know, certain provisions in the Telecommunications Act allow the minister to issue orders. They must be general orders. They must be tabled at this committee and publicly debated. They can then be amended or left as is.
Under the current system, the CRTC acts as an independent organization and carries out daily work concerning telecommunications. In the context of the government's general direction, Minister Bernier can decide to igive us orders. Once consultations have been concluded, the decision is final and we must comply with the orders. We are given broad instructions and use these as our framework. It is within this specific framework that we make specific decisions on a case-by-case basis.