Thank you, Chair.
Welcome, Commissioner. It's good to have you here with us today. I am new to the ethics committee and working with my colleagues here. I'm trying to get up to speed on everything that's happened.
First off, just on a different tangent, I think it's worth pointing out that I was born and raised in northern British Columbia, in a place called Prince Rupert, where there is an RCMP detachment. I want to give a shout-out to all the officers who are sent there, to northern British Columbia, from all parts of Canada to provide public safety. I want to get that on the record, because the town I was born and raised in shaped many of my views today.
I'm not a lawyer like some of my colleagues, and I don't profess to be, but one question that is of very high importance to me has to do with the operational independence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. How important is that operational independence? Specifically, the responsibility of being a member of Parliament obviously involves studying legislation, but also acting responsibly in terms of our statements, our tweets and our comments about what our public security organizations do and don't do. Whether we're talking about the CBSA, the RCMP, the York Regional Police where I live, the Vancouver Police Department or any other police department, how important is that operational independence to you?