Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I may ask for comment from the Canadian Bar Association on this. I have just a quick comment about a concern.
In my professional career, as I watched the appointment of judges at both the provincial court level in Ontario and the county court level, which we had at one period of time, there were any number of superior candidates who simply didn't apply, quite frankly. We had a long list of people who were prepared to take the bench, but they weren't the top quality. It was simply because of the amount of money that was there for compensation, in terms of the lifestyle they had already created for themselves and their families. I'm quite afraid of that happening now.
I'm not surprised that we have a long list now. I say without equivocation, without making comments about the political interference in appointments, that we generally get the best appointments. But I don't see that continuing to happen when we get this kind of interference with the independent commission.
That's really where my question comes to, Mr. Leurer. I have the perception that at the provincial level a number of the commissions or the alternatives that they've set up are not functioning well because too many of the provinces have done just what this government is doing now. They have not accepted the commissions' reports or have not accepted them without valid reasons. Does the Canadian Bar Association have any position on what's happening at the provincial level across the country with the other commissions?