Yes. I hear exactly what you're saying, and certainly the panel is not a guarantee of any particular outcome.
But there is a difference, in that by virtue of the panel process, when the Treasury Board Secretariat assessment is put to Treasury Board—the cabinet committee—that Treasury Board Secretariat assessment has been enriched by the panel deliberations and the panel recommendations. And when the Treasury Board ultimately makes its decision, instead of two lines of input—the Treasury Board submission and the TBS recommendation—it has the benefit of three. It has the benefit of the TBS recommendation, which is informed by the panel process, of the Treasury Board submission from the responsible minister, and of the panel recommendation.
While I grant you that this does not guarantee there will be respectful and fully considered deliberations in every scenario, I feel it at least ensures that what the Treasury Board gets is a very comprehensive picture of the issue from a number of angles.