Well, I've tried to express my views on this. I obviously disagree strongly. Government ministers are appointed, but remember, they're very partisan. They're hardly approaching it from an objective view. Why should they? No government, no minister, is ever going to surrender powers freely or gracefully. The whole history of the political system proves time and again that if changes are going to be made, they have to be done because of popular demand or the sheer persuasiveness of the argument. Usually it's a combination of both. I don't think it should be left up to the government to make the decision.
If I'm right, if my colleagues are right in saying that legislation is a mandatory route in terms of whether we want to achieve results—If this committee is content just to issue yet another report making recommendations, knowing the government is going to ignore them, then nothing will have been accomplished. If we're serious about wanting to move to a truly merit-based system, I think legislation is unavoidable. If the government disagrees about the constitutionality, that's why we have a Supreme Court of Canada, that's why we have litigation all the time.
It's always easy for this party to say this is unconstitutional, contrary to law, but they shouldn't be judges in their own cause. The government, in this case, is very much a judge in its own cause. If the government feels so convinced it is right, all the more reason it should be agreeable to putting the matter before the Supreme Court of Canada.