Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would also like to thank you for being here with us. I too am curious as to why you were not consulted on the bill, especially since your predecessor had made recommendations. I asked the minister why that had not been done as part of Bill C-2, so that we could have already had legislation to that effect rather than have to examine another bill; those recommendations had been made. But those people said that they wanted to take their time in order to have a better bill. In my view, they should have consulted Elections Canada officials to check whether they were satisfied with the bill. They could have also asked for their advice. They would not have had to act on it, but they could have at least listened to them. That way, the bill could have been clearer, and we wouldn't have had to do so much work. We now have to restart the process and get the machinery going again.
You said earlier that you did not have a written presentation with you. I personally would like to further examine the issues you will have raised. We will have to see whether a piece of the puzzle is missing. That would be important.
As for the 18 months, if the loan is given about 1 year before the election, it will have to be repaid before the election. What date would you recommend? The date of the election?