Yes, very much so. Anyone who's serving at your pleasure is not independent.
I was very disappointed to hear Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein claim that they share the same interests as the Prime Minister in terms of keeping him away from conflicts of interest. Actually, the interest they share with the Prime Minister is covering up conflicts of interest.
These ethics screens, again, were created by the Ethics Commissioner. It's a loophole that's not in the act; it's created by the commissioner. Tomorrow, Konrad von Finckenstein could require full transparency under that ethics screen of every single time Mr. Carney is actually stepping aside from a decision. He could impose that as part of the conditions of the screen. It's really his screen. He sets the terms of it.
What it would show, if there was transparency, is that 99% of the time Mr. Carney is participating in decisions that affect his financial interest because the law allows for that, as the Ethics Commissioner acknowledged when he was testifying.