I would like to thank the three witnesses. This is extremely interesting. In fact, it only confirms for me that these are not easy issues.
I'm thinking back to when I was in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. I salute my alma mater. We have had some extraordinary testimonies in addition to Professor Cyr's. Well done.
Professor Cyr, you spoke about the importance of clarifying the nature of clauses 471 and 472. I'm not going to go back over the fact that they are included in the budget bill, which I have serious problems with. The text on the government's reference to the Supreme Court of Canada states:
…or enact the annexed declaratory provisions as set out in clauses 471 and 472 of the Bill entitled Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 2…
Do you think it's enough to give them this declaratory nature? I'm going to tell you why I'm concerned. I won't be telling you anything new by saying that we sometimes play little games in politics. As clearly as I know my own name, I know that Conservatives outnumber New Democrats in this room. So if it was adopted, could we be telling the Supreme Court on January 15, 2014, that the legislator has spoken and that we are therefore no longer interested in dealing with clauses 471 and 472?