Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the committee.
Last week, we heard from Richard Bilodeau, Acting Assistant Deputy Commissioner. He said that Bill C-452 was unnecessary because, at the end of the day, the commissioner had all the power she needed. This is what he said in his brief:
Whenever the commissioner has information that indicates that one of the enforcement provisions of the act has been or is about to be violated, regardless of the source of that information, section 10 of the act provides the commissioner with the authority to commence an inquiry into any matters she considers necessary.
According to him, the bill is definitely not necessary, because the commissioner has the authority to begin any inquiry she sees fit. But, according to you, that does not seem to be the case.
So I would ask the two of you whether you think the commissioner currently has the same authority to conduct an inquiry.