Thank you very much, Mr. Chair,
We are falling out of our chairs reading and listening to your testimony today. The government thinks that your testimony is not justified, but, on the contrary, in my opinion, it deserves our full attention. It certainly proves that changes to the act are necessary, given the items you have described to us.
In your brief, you say, and I quote:
Since the passage of SARA, four successive ministers of the environment have accepted COSEWIC's nominees for membership and issued ministerial appointments to all (although the Hon. John Baird declined to accept one of COSEWIC's nominees to the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee in 2007).
Can you tell us the minister's reasoning in refusing to accept one of COSEWIC's nominees?