Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Commissioner and associates, for being here today.
I wasn't a member of Parliament when this legislation was brought forward, but I'm certainly proud to be a member of a government that did decide, five years ago or longer, that we needed such accountability legislation and we needed this type of an office. I remember that during my orientation shortly after the May 2011 election, you and your staff were there. You provided, I think, a very comprehensive overview of the legislation so that we, as new members of Parliament, understood the rules, even though as backbench MPs we weren't necessarily affected directly by the act—and that's one of the questions.
The first question I have for you concerns the definition of designated public office holder as far as the act is concerned. Is that broad enough? Are we covering enough people? You mentioned you're responsible for 3,000 people. Are we covering enough people in that? Should we be covering people like me, and opposition MPs, and others who have influence around here on how public policy is developed? Is the definition in the act as we currently see it strong enough so that really we're getting at cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries and deputy ministers and others who are covered under the current definition?