Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am an ardent defender of Parliamentary sovereignty, and other kinds of sovereignty as well. But that is a whole other debate.
It is important that parliamentary sovereignty not put us in an awkward position. The people who are interested in an alternative mechanism to the Commission have not said what they are talking about. There is a difference between a deputy minister and senior officials working for the government, who are serving their fellow citizens through their involvement in the public service, where the hierarchy is clear: it's Parliament or the minister. Theoretically, ministerial responsibility extends to all the decisions they make on behalf of the minister.
It's true that we're talking about public money here, and ultimately, about public policies. The judiciary has a very special role. We have to have constitutional guarantees so that when someone appears before a court of law, judges won't make rulings that have negative consequences for the government. If we don't have a commission, what mechanism could replace it?
Mr. Garant, on page 4 of your brief, you wrote something that I found quite interesting:
It is extremely rare for judges to be allowed to negotiate directly with governments, although they are often permitted to take part in advisory bodies.
What did you mean by that?