There are a lot of questions there, madam.
As for the factual part, I negotiated my mandate with the government of the day. One of the important provisions I negotiated was the right to go wherever I deemed it appropriate in seeking out the truth. I gave myself, through negotiation, a freedom of action that was very useful during the course of my inquiry.
I would recommend to any commissioner of inquiry that he or she be covered by a similar provision. Otherwise, if a mandate is constrained, some people would be able to make criticisms and state that a given aspect was not researched or investigated. For purposes of the protection of the credibility and reputation of the commissioner, he or she must be provided with a certain freedom of action during the course of the inquiry. If it is necessary to negotiate one's mandate, then it follows that the commissioner should be appointed before the terms and conditions of the mandate are set, would you not say? If the mandate is established in advance, the commissioner is somewhat a prisoner of what was decided without his or her knowledge.