Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to ask some questions about consultation. It's something I've been dwelling on for quite some time, not just on this committee but on other committees, because I take to heart the comments you made, Mr. Dymond, about consultation and how the government consults. I think there certainly is an opportunity for misunderstanding, just from the way it's carried out.
Some of my thoughts on this are that there is definitely consultation going on at all sorts of different levels. For example, as an MP, I have formal and informal consultations with businesses in my riding. But also, as MPs, we get national groups coming to see us to explain their points of view on something or the concerns they might have.
There is the departmental level. We had officials here, and I asked them this question about consultation and about what sorts of consultative mechanisms they have in place. They confirmed that they do consultations at different levels—some formal, some informal, some at conferences, and some here in the government. There are all sorts of different mechanisms and different levels.
Of course, there is the ministerial level. The minister himself or herself is either lobbied or in fact reaches out to industry or accepts meetings from industry.
There is the committee here. We call in witnesses. We study a particular topic. And of course, we have to pick and choose who comes, and we do the best we can.
And of course, there are still reports and position papers. Oftentimes companies or organizations and associations that represent a particular sector publish reports.
Where I think some of the confusion sometimes comes in is that industries at certain levels don't realize that all this consultation is going on. So in other words, if they're not part of this picture, even though this consultative process is taking place, they feel that it's not taking place, because they don't know about it. So I think there's a communication issue that might hinder this.
The second thing is, for example, if they're not invited, because everyone has to pick and choose. Not everybody can participate in everything. So if they're not invited or they don't actively plug into the consultative process through these different mechanisms I spoke about, it can leave them with the feeling that the process that's in place isn't working. Or they may feel, actually, that they have limited time and resources and they can't plug in, because as you know, it takes time and effort to prepare your position and present your position and participate in a larger setting to communicate it. They may just feel that the payback isn't worth it for a company of that size or in that sector, or whatever.
I notice that you both have experience within our government. You have experience internationally. I wanted to ask both of you how other countries deal with this idea of consultation. I would start by asking if you agree with what I've said here. And do you have recommendations as to how this might be improved?
Second, are there models in other countries that you've experienced? Are there good things we could pick from those other countries?