The first point to make is that administrative tribunals are composed, in this case, of folks who have expertise relevant to the work of that tribunal. They are not held to the same standard as a matter of law as in the case of a court or a judge. The level of impartiality is not supposed to be the same. They are invited or appointed in those roles because of their expertise, and we bring that to our work.
I did not have decided views in any way about whether a particular price of a particular medication was too high. That is the work in which I need to maintain a high level of impartiality in the context of the hearing.
In making policy decisions, the other role that board members play, about what the guidelines should look like, how we should consult and so forth, I'm allowed to have particular views about what that process entails and how many communications and meetings with stakeholders we ought to have. When taking into account all of our stakeholders, not just industry, we're losing patients in the equation here. What should be the best decision about how to move forward?
Respectfully, I disagree that I lacked the level of impartiality required for that work.