If you look at the statistical legislation of most developed countries, for example, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and other countries with the Westminster system, but also Europe, in law certain specific powers are assigned to the chief statistician or director general of the national statistical office, powers over things that involve decisions about statistical methods, analysis, dissemination.
In many pieces of legislation there's a specific reference to the independence of the statistical office. The difference in Canada is that our legislation essentially creates the head of Statistics Canada as being simply a deputy minister. It has none of those provisions. Almost all of the powers in the legislation are assigned to the minister and delegated as opposed to directly assigned to the chief statistician.
International standards have strongly suggested specific provisions in law that would enhance the independence and they exist in most of the other developed countries.
That is what we're looking at, bringing us in line with what is done in most other countries.