Thank you, Chair.
I move that Bill C-377, in clause 1, be amended by adding after line 16 on page 2 the following:
(1.1) An application referred to in subsection (1) is to be processed and managed as though it were made by a person appointed by a minister under subsection 128(1) of the Public Service Employment Act.
There was logic when I did this. I looked at some of the language that I think the government considered. However, as was rightly pointed out, if we just refer to the standard on security screening laid out in the Treasury Board guidelines, that's a regulatory document, a policy that is subject to change, because it's not linked to legislation. We could have a challenge with the Parliament of Canada Act being out of sync with policies that exist across the government. That's a legitimate concern, so it was rightly pointed out.
We have the Public Service Employment Act, which addresses that and links it, so if any changes occur that impact the PSEA, the PSEA takes precedence. The reason I specifically picked subsection 128(1) is that it's the part that refers to anybody employed in a minister's office. We, as parliamentarians, are not public servants. We're elected or appointed parliamentarians, part of the legislative branch, so it made perfect sense to link us to those same types of positions that would be employed, such as exempt staff in a minister's office, to follow under the exact same conditions, because it made a lot more sense to link us that way.
That was the reason why I did that. It makes it clear what it links to. It's linked to legislation, not just a policy. At the same time, it links us to those equivalent, or as close as possible to equivalent, positions that exist outside of the actual public service.
I'll leave my comments at that for now, Chair.