Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have two questions for the witnesses.
Mr. Simpson, you tabled a document in which you refer, among other things, to the Quebec constitutional reference. You note the following on page 15:As “substantially similar” to PIPEDA, the Quebec privacy law continues to apply within the province.
Are you saying that if the Quebec law were not substantially similar, it could not continue to apply within Quebec?
My second question pertains to the next paragraph in which you say this:Decision will confirm the federal government's ability to exercise its powers over trade and commerce [...]
Are we to assume from this that a decision will be forthcoming and if so, that a responsible official in Quebec would say that the decision handed down supercedes the federal government's authority in this area? I realize that a decision may not necessarily say this, but isn't there an assumption here that there will be some sort of decision, even though one has not already been handed down?