Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It seems to me that in that the motion refers to circumscribing the role, the point is that this part of it would in fact say that these are the restrictions, effectively. What we have to ask ourselves is whether we're going to have a separate, independent Commissioner of the Environment and what the role should be.
Clearly this isn't legislation we're drafting here; we're drafting a resolution that would be recommended to Parliament to go further, for the government to bring forward a bill. We don't have to be too precise, but I think we want to talk about the question of what we think the role ought to be and to what degree it should be independent or not.
It seems to me that Mr. McGuinty has raised a very good point about the Auditor General having the final say on the reports of the Commissioner of the Environment. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we think that's the right way for things to work. We have to ask ourselves what Parliament looks for in selecting an Auditor General—what the qualifications sought in that role are—and whether those qualifications are appropriate in relation to oversight of the Commissioner of the Environment or whether, because of the nature of the Auditor General's role and the audit function, the commissioner should be separate.
Also, if it's separate, does the audit function generally then remain with the Auditor General while the commissioner has a different role, with some kind of circumscribed advocacy? We have to look at the degree to which this role is different in nature from other kinds of auditing functions. I think it is different in nature for some of the reasons we've heard today, but it seems to me that's what we have to be considering.
Mr. Chairman, you mentioned that it would be nice to have the witness names today, before the end of the committee meeting. I'm not sure whether that's possible or not. I'm hoping we can get them to you by tomorrow. I don't know whether we're looking at a meeting on this topic on Thursday or whether we could do it that soon; I'm sure Mr. McGuinty would prefer it, if we can. Obviously, if the witnesses aren't available, maybe we can chat and find the next best time.