Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As we know—and the new legislation will change that—in the past, returning officers and assistant returning officers were appointed on the basis of their political allegiance. Mr. Kingsley has already complained about the fact that, in election periods, he had tried to solve the problem with politically-appointed returning officers but did not have the authority to do so. They would almost send him elsewhere. The returning officers would tell him that it was not he, Mr. Kingsley, who had appointed them, and that they could do what they liked. That complaint was often voiced before our committee; people complained about that.
What could you do if there were to be an election in the next few months, and you were not able to apply the provisions C-2, and, for example, you were unable to make the appointments yourself? The idea is to eliminate any political interference, to judge on the basis of people's experience and not their political views, as in the past.