Chair, thank you for that, and witnesses, thank you for coming here again today on such short notice. I had a feeling when I asked the indulgence of the committee to look at this issue, even for a few minutes, it would certainly enlist the interest of a lot of the members and then find them in a field of engagement they probably had not anticipated without your presence here, so we thank you. We're deeply indebted to your comments.
On that note as well, considering the comments that have come forward, it seems to me the issue of the policy direction and the comments by the minister may very well provide a heavy hammer of interference with respect to the independence of the CRTC, notwithstanding the fact a regulation allows the minister to do that, but I think the concerns have been raised by some of you here, and they certainly speak to the test of whether or not this even passes the requirements of the Telecommunications Act.
I appreciate the comments you made to point out specifically where sections of the Telecommunications Act may be violated by the first, second, and third sections of this direction.
Mr. MacDonald, you referred a little earlier to the experience south of the border. Was it you who pointed this out?
My understanding now is that with the disappearance of the merger of MCI and AT&T, there is no doubt the Americans have now gone back to a point where they were in 1984 when the whole process of deregulation began, very much not because of the FCC's want. I hear another witness suggest it was because of FCC's decision, but it was because of a court decision that took place there.
I am wondering if you could give us a snapshot of what you would predict might be the future if this thing is rushed ahead and Parliament is not given an opportunity to properly debate this issue.