Madam Chair, the lifespan of the existence of the Ethics Commissioner as an entity, under the newest form of the legislation brought in by Bill C-2, is far too short to be able to answer that. There is no real precedent yet.
Going beyond that, in an entirely legally based view—which has to be mine—what's at stake here is the application of the sub judice rule to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. With respect, the Ethics Commissioner is not a court of law but an officer of parliament. That being said, it seems to me there is nothing in law or legal custom to prevent the committee from examining the subject matter, albeit perhaps not exactly the same issues as those within the responsibility of the Ethics Commissioner. Under her own legislation, the committee can choose, if it wants, to look at the general subject matter, to investigate the facts, and perhaps to draw conclusions, hopefully, other than those the Ethics Commissioner will draw.