Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have been listening to you, Mr. Côté, and what you do is reinforce in my mind just how bad...how this legislation, Bill C-23, is a destructive force to democracy here in Canada. This is not a step forward. This is a significant step backwards. I feel insulted in regard to the degree in which you weren't even consulted, you said, in regard to your position as the commissioner and having that position transferred out of Elections Canada.
I think you've been exceptionally clear. I had a few questions that I would like get on the record with you.
The in-and-out scandal, robocalls, overspending, and cheating: these are things that the public as a whole feels have taken place in the last election. There is a general feeling of public confidence...of a lack thereof, because of the thousands of phone calls that were made because of the last election. There's this huge expectation that you, as the commissioner, are going to be able to get to the bottom of a lot of these very important issues.
I'm not asking you to comment on any specific issue, but what I'm thinking about is, going forward, if this legislation were to pass without amendments such as compelling a witness, would you clearly state that it would in fact make it more difficult for you to acquire any sort of a prosecution?