Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have a number of questions for the minister. Several comments caught me off guard, but I will come straight to the point.
As a Bloc MP, you surely understand that I am very concerned about the potential impact of this legislation on Quebec and on the Canada-Quebec Accord. I believe someone stated to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights that the act would not affect people selected by Quebec. Yet, during our hearings, some witnesses told us that on the contrary, while this may not be the legislator's intent, there is nothing in the act to prevent instructions from applying to persons selected by the provinces. Mention was made at one briefing by your officials that instructions like these could be issued if one province attracted all of the applications for qualified workers in a given field.
Would you, or a future minister, have the authority under the act to issue instructions that could impact how the applications of persons selected by the Government of Quebec are processed?