Mr. Chair, I will move this amendment.
Again, I have to say that in light of the consensus that has been put on record, I don't think there should be any worries that the right of the Chief Electoral Officer to communicate publicly as he wishes would know any borders, but nonetheless, again, for greater certainty, which means it's not as if this is necessary, but it helps assuage any concerns, this would say:
For greater certainty, the Chief Electoral Officer may give lectures and speak at conferences both inside and outside Canada without government permission.
It's somewhat necessary because proposed section 18.01 raises some ambiguity when it refers to “assistance and cooperation in electoral matters”.
It's not unusual for government or quasi-government or parliamentary bodies and institutions to themselves hold seminars and conferences. It's not just the preserve of the private sector or the academic sector. I just want to make sure there's absolutely no question that the Chief Electoral Officer doesn't have to get the Governor in Council's approval to go and give a lecture to the chief electoral body in France, or whatever it is. That, I think, would be so beyond the pale of the need that Mr. Lukiwski referred to that I hope we can have agreement on this amendment.