Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to our guests.
I note that I think you just said no to Mr. Goldring.
When I look at the proposal we have in front of us, and we look at what the government is doing--and I appreciate the fact you're a public servant, so your job is to carry through with what your political masters ask of you--I'm not going to ask your opinion, but I want a status report of the process we have in front of us, as you outlined it.
And I have to say—I can give an opinion, so I will—that the process of the round table, and what we were hoping for and people were waiting patiently to see, was to have an ombudsperson put into a position where they would be able to hear complaints and to arbitrate where to go. I think the spirit of this—and a private member's bill has limitations, you can only go so far—doesn't do that. But I think Mr. Rae was going in the direction, which was a little different from what Mr. Goldring was maybe suggesting Mr. Rae was going, in which we could use what the government has put in place with Bill C-300 and move things along--evolve.
I wanted to clarify with you, and for people who are listening and going to read the blues on this, that Bill C-300 does provide a mechanism so concerns can be heard and a process put in place to deal with them. Can you explain to me right now the proposal the government has put forward? If one party doesn't want to involve itself in the process, can the process go ahead? In other words, is it incumbent upon both parties to take part in this dispute resolution process?