That's a very interesting question, Mr. Chairman. However, in view of my responsibilities and the authority vested in me by the minister, it is my duty to share with him anything of interest related to citizenship. As you can appreciate, this relationship is somewhat like the one between an attorney and his client and I cannot share with you any comments or information that I may be called upon to share with the Minister who, by law, is the person to whom I report. When it comes to making a decision, I stand alone and I am protected very well from all outside influence.
All pieces of legislation can be improved upon, but as an independent decision-maker, Mr. Chairman, I am not at liberty to point out to the committee either the strengths or the weaknesses of the act, for the sake of preserving my independence. If I wanted to do so, perhaps I should step down and appear before you as a former judge. Unfortunately, given my current duties, I cannot comment. My job and that of my colleagues is to interpret the current act. We speak through our decisions, Mr. Chairman and unfortunately, we cannot make general comments about the weaknesses, or strengths, of any one act in particular.