Mr. Chair, I'll take the floor.
First, I want to thank the witnesses for joining us this afternoon.
I'll turn to you first, Ms. Le Quéré.
You chair the High Council on Climate in France, you're a member of the Climate Change Committee in the United Kingdom and you've written IPCC reports. In my opinion, you're certainly one of the experts whom we should consult and listen to.
I've had the pleasure of hearing from you many times over the past few months. You also came to speak to us last March about the possibility of making the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development an independent officer of Parliament.
There doesn't seem to be any interest in this right now. My question is along these lines. The role of the commissioner is to look back and the role of the expert panel is to look forward. Ms. Le Quéré, what dangers do you foresee if the committee established in Bill C-12 remains as it stands and the commissioner doesn't change status to have the required independence? To what extent would progress be compromised?