Previous commissioners and my two annual reports have all commented on the situation you raise. Consultations with PCO, Foreign Affairs, were identified in the last set of report cards as being a systemic problem, a systemic issue.
I recognize that horizontal government and horizontal issues, the complexity of government, do require intergovernmental consultations. Bad enough that we have a three-tiered system among federal, provincial, and municipal governments. If you ask the questions at three levels, you get three different answers on the same subject. I've experienced that myself. You got the whole story, but you got it partly from each level.
It is unacceptable that consultations delay the legislative time of 30 or 60 days, with consultations included. The law is the law. When you get stopped by a police officer and he says, “You were going over the 30-mile limit”, and you say,“But I was only going 55 miles an hour and, really, I need to go 85 to get there on time”.... It's ridiculous. The law is the law. It says 30 days and they're violating the law.