Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Minister, ladies, good afternoon.
The Bloc Québécois is somewhat uncomfortable with this bill. Apart from the technical side of the matter, it is very difficult for parliamentarians to determine, when it comes to knowledge and impartiality, if the judge is worth 10.8%, 7.25% or 9.4%. That said, we would have liked to have two major parameters respected. The first is the constitutional principle which you yourself raised, in other words, an independent commission which would base its analysis on a number of criteria.
There is also one principle you failed to mention. It has been an integral part of the process from 1999 since quite recently, and it consisted in linking judges' salaries with those of members. The Bloc Québécois is quite uneasy with the idea that, if the bill were to be adopted, the Supreme Court Chief Justice would be earning $254,500, $258,000 or $254,400. We live in a society that respects the rule of law, but also democratic legitimacy. So, based on that last factor, we should not end up with a situation where the Chief Justice could be earning more than the Prime Minister, notwithstanding the work of the individual holding the position and performing the duties of Prime Minister. The Liberals are the ones who decided to stop linking up judges' and members' salaries despite the commission's recommendations.
Would you not agree that it is dangerous not to link up the Prime Minister's and the Chief Justice's salaries? Would you agree that they should be linked and determined by an independent commission?