I'm unaware of any testimony that came from the bar or anybody else who said this was a bad idea. I guess that's the point. Government may deem this unfavourable. It may dislike it. It may cause other concerns, but those are not my concerns. Unless somebody comes to the committee and says that this order-making power, this ability to give the commissioner this new power to get information from government is a bad thing, we should base our testimony on the best that we have available.
Sure, some witnesses said maybe one step down, maybe a hybrid is better, but this was told to us, and this is what this committee previously recommended. There has been no significant evidence—again, it's an evidence-based government I'm supposed to be looking at—that said this would be harmful.
Until I hear that, then I don't know how in good conscience the committee can recommend something that we have been told is good, have been offered a slightly watered-down version, so why not go for the one that's the best offer? “We can always improve”, I think the Prime Minister said. Well, here's an opportunity. Let's take him at his word.