We are an agency of the Government of Canada. It's a shared governance agency under the terminology that is used by Treasury Board. That's what we are, similar to the Asia Pacific Forum. There are five such agencies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Shared governance means that the board is appointed by the government, and so is the president. There is a sort of co-management. It's an arm's-length relationship, but it's not a long-arm's-length relationship.
We abide by all of the rules of Treasury Board. When I travel, I travel according to management board regulations. The Auditor General comes once a year to do her thing. We abide by the French language services legislation or the Official Languages Act.
There are slight differences. Our staff is not part of the federal staff. It is not part of the public service, but they do have the benefits of the public service.
I agree with you that we are a bit of a hybrid organization, those who share this notion of being a shared governance organization, but that's the way it is.