Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Judging from the background material we received from the Library of Parliament, it would indeed appear that the position of ambassador has been vacant for nearly a decade. A name was put forward in January and it's March already. There seems to be a great deal of work to do. Personally, I'm somewhat concerned, like Mr. Blais. According to Mr. Bevan, there is work to be done. A strategic plan is in place. The action plan called for an ambassador to be appointed at some point in time. This year, someone has been nominated for the position.
If we proceed to appoint an ambassador, then we should also put forward an action plan, since this is a three-year appointment. Priorities must be established, along with goals. A timetable must be set for reaching these goals within a very tight three-year timeframe. Mr. Sullivan's role on the international stage will be to serve as ambassador much more than as a lobbyist for Canada's fishery. Earlier, mention was made of having him travel to Europe to “sell” the seal hunt. That's more in the nature of a lobbyist's job.
When responding to all of the questions asked this morning, Mr. Sullivan regularly referred to the terms of his mandate. Since he is probably the only person familiar with these terms, in addition to the people who drafted the mandate, I'd like to know, as I'm sure the committee would, what responsibilities Mr. Sullivan has as ambassador. Surely these responsibilities are set out on paper. Could we possibly get a copy of his mandate? I'm asking because you regularly referred to the responsibilities associated with your mandate. This means that you do have a mandate. That mandate must be set out on paper. Could we get a copy of your terms of reference?