Certainly. Mr. Chair, with regard to clause 223, that clause amends the Motor Vehicle Safety Act by removing the requirement to prepublish regulations. This existing requirement to prepublish regulations is already addressed by the cabinet directive on regulatory management, and that existing requirement is considered out of date. There is also an explicit [Inaudible--Editor] to incorporate documents or any reference.
With regard to the cabinet directive on regulatory management and its predecessor directives, since 1986 federal regulatory policy has made prepublication mandatory, has made consultations with stakeholders mandatory, and the only exceptions would be those that are approved by the Governor in Council, and those would be restricted to certain situations such as emergency situations where the Treasury Board can grant an exemption or where there are proposed amendments that are very minor or editorial in nature.
Therefore, this removal of a mandatory publication merely aligns the act with many other acts out there and aligns it with the cabinet directive on regulatory management.
To summarize, consultation is necessary. Prepublication is necessary under most circumstances. In rare instances where it's justified, Treasury Board can allow us to avoid that step where it's in the interest of doing so.