Madam Chair, I believe you have answered the question, but I would like to add that the secretariat was made up of public servants. We are proud to be in a position to support the Government of Canada, regardless of the party in power. We were asked to help the commission to define their code of practice. We were never part of the appointment process. Even when I was a deputy minister, all I did was to provide the minister with the names of competent individuals. It was then up to the minister and colleagues to move the process forward. We were expected to be politically neutral, and that is something of which I am proud.
On March 27th, 2007. See this statement in context.