I want to very briefly set out for you why we felt there was a problem with what the report proposed and the government said it accepted.
First, if it ain't broke don't fix it. The selection process we had in place was working extremely well. We were getting extremely good candidates, and were passing people on for appointment who were very good. The problem wasn't our selection process; the problem was the minister's office not appointing people.
We also could not see any purpose in putting minister's representatives on the selection committee, other than to bring partisanship into the process. Since we came on the committee with the express intent that there would not be partisanship in the selection process, we felt that any attempt to go that way was a contradiction of the terms under which we came on it, and we would not accept that.
We all had some experience with the refugee board and the history of patronage on the refugee board. We did not want to see the board go down that road again, because we knew that it was harmful to refugees and their rights.
I'm going to stop there. I have lots of other things to say. I hope you'll be asking me some questions when you come back.