I am inclined to link that to the perception of independence, something that was raised on this side of the table. The process that the Commission engaged in was perfectly appropriate. I believe the Association had asked for a 17% increase. The Commission, which relied on serious studies, held hearings and consulted quite a number of people, including experts, proposed an increase of 18.9%. For slightly different reasons, which are well explained in the government's response, the latter is proposing a 7.5% increase.
But why not ask the general public, your constituents, or some 750,000 employment insurance recipients whether they consider that kind of salary increase to be unreasonable? Why not ask 40% of the people working for the City of Montreal, who earn less than $30,000 a year, whether they feel that judges will no longer be independent if they only receive a 17 or 10.5% salary increase? I think the answer there is obvious.
As members of Parliament, you must understand that people's perception of independence is not related to that sort of thing. These issues will not change much in that regard. As experts in the field, we may be keeping a myth alive by looking closely at these issues and endlessly analyzing the report of the Commission and the government's response. In my opinion, if we take a more comprehensive view of things, we should be satisfied with the fact that in our constitutional system, the judiciary is independent and the compensation process is satisfactory. Everyone has to take their own responsibilities. Parliament has its responsibilities, which are of a constitutional nature.
I already stated that in my view, the government can deviate from the recommendation. It has good reasons to do so. Perhaps we would have liked a little more information in terms of what it says on pages 5 and 6. But the Canadian public is aware of the government's priorities. People want there to be federal transfers, in order to reduce waiting times for health care services or improve the daycare system. The vast number of federal government programs currently operating means that the government will have to invest a great deal of money. And that money simply cannot be invested elsewhere.