Yes. I think the point of the flaw is.... I don't think a minister should be accountable for everything that people in the bureaucracy do, because sometimes they're not informed. However, if they are informed about it, they should be held accountable. The real crux of the matter is that the deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers are selected by the cabinet.
The Gomery commission—after reviewing the sponsorship ad scam spending scandal—recommended that deputy ministers be selected through an independent commission and given a fixed term of office, and that they should only be able to be dismissed with cause. That is key to having an independent public service. Everybody below assistant deputy minister and deputy minister knows that to reach the top, you have to please the politicians. That's why it's so key to have fully independent officers if you really want those internal people to be ombudspersons.
The ATIP officers are there already. Why not designate them as the people? They have more independence and they're within a system of access to information, which is part of whistle-blowing and the public's right to know. It's flawed.
The Gomery commission recommendation was responded to by the gang of 60 who came out—former prime ministers and deputy ministers saying you can't do this and deputy ministers have to be blindly loyal to their ministers. No, they have to be loyal to the rule of the law and upholding what's right and in the public interest. That's a fatal flaw in our system currently, and it means the public service is not as independent as it needs to be. Whistle-blower protection cannot work without a fully independent office for people to go to.