Yes, I would agree.
Something I mentioned to the committee and many members in this room was that I was very surprised and somewhat taken aback, following my appointment, by the questions that were raised by parliamentarians and put to me directly with respect to my partisanship. The method of the appointment created a perception of partisanship very quickly out of the gate. I was asked by many parliamentarians and staffers how well I knew the Prime Minister, how many times I met the Prime Minister, if I was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, if I had donated to the Liberal Party of Canada. No one should have to deal with that.
More importantly, as the OECD points out, for an institution that is widely respected as being impartial and independent, having a nomination process for an interim appointment that leads to that specific outcome just makes no sense. It undermines the entire raison d'etre of having an independent parliamentary budget office.