First, thank you for once again raising the issue of returning officers, an issue which has consistently been the subject of my recommendations since I have held my position. I spoke about this in 1990, the year I was appointed, before the royal commission that was considering this issue. I recommended that the royal commission draft a recommendation but it chose not to do so. I persisted, however, because, quite honestly, this type of problem is a source of immense frustration for the Chief Electoral Officer. Thank you for having raised it once again.
In terms of the process, we obviously became aware of the wording of the bill at the same time as everyone else. We are currently preparing the system that would be used to recruit and appoint returning officers.
The system would rely primarily on merit, depending on the requirements of the position and the qualities necessary in people taking on those responsibilities, including political neutrality. Second, having a process will ensure that an individual's merit is determined fairly and equitably. When I appear before the committee that will be considering Bill C-2, I will be in a position to expand on that topic. However, I can tell you that the system will be based on merit, as set out in Bill C-2, as well as on transparency.