Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I wanted to get back to Mr. Reid's point before I turn to Mr. Christopherson's point, with respect to the ring.
I want to note on the record that my wife has just arrived. Jean, welcome.
The only time I defer with respect to the ring is the vow that I made.
With respect to the broader point, I would simply say on the record again, Mr. Reid, that we find ourselves in this situation because of the actions of the previous government. We're now faced with the potential of, I understand now, 25 vacancies for the Senate because the previous prime minister chose not to make appointments for over two years. We are now faced with the situation where we have a constitutional requirement to have a functioning upper House, and where we need to appoint this large number of senators, including someone who will ultimately be the government's representative in the Senate, given that we have moved forward toward greater independence and recognizing the importance of the greater independence of senators. We are simply faced with this situation.
I would also note on the record that at the end of the day from a constitutional perspective—and this is why I raise the question and withdrew it, recognizing it was a process question—this advisory board's recommendations to the executive council and to the Prime Minister are ultimately not binding on the Prime Minister. It would fetter his discretion.
At the end of the day what we're trying to do is create a more open democratic process for people to apply into a process. Unfortunately, we're dealing with a problem we have right now on short notice with the interim process and subsequently trying to invite Canadians of exceptional competence throughout the land to consider serving in a public way on something that we are constitutionally mandated to do.
With respect to your question, Mr. Christopherson—