Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome, Minister. Thank you for responding to our invitation.
I would like to say that I think the approach we are taking on ATIA is a solid one. As I understand it, the government has used the FAA to make important improvements to the ATIA. On the other hand, as the members of this committee are aware, there remain several key issues relating to the ATIA that were not included in the Federal Accountability Act. If my understanding is correct, this is because these issues are extremely complex and require further analysis and discussion with stakeholders before they will become ripe for implementation.
These issues have been laid out in the discussion paper that your predecessor tabled before the House in April 2006, and this honourable committee has been invited to delve into these issues and present its findings to the government. I for one entirely support this approach and am glad that this committee now has the opportunity to look at these issues in depth so that the government can legislate solutions to them that are well thought out and fair.
Having said this, Mr. Chair, I would like to ask the minister whether he feels that we are ready to move on any of the issues in the discussion paper.