Legislation's effectiveness depends on how it's applied.
We're very concerned about the department not meeting the timelines. Sometimes there are gaps between the preliminary and final assessments that make no sense, where the public is exposed to these substances. For triclosan, for example, eight years elapsed between the preliminary assessment and the publication of the final assessment.
So we need much more rigour and clear requirements. The government must be accountable for the work it has to do and make the information public. Canadians should have the right to know where assessments are at and how the government is working. This is a major concern right now.
It's somewhat as a result of your very interesting deliberations that we've seen the extent to which the department seems to be denying any responsibility for the information to be made public and the need for clear timelines.