Mr. Chair, the answer to that question is yes, we did obtain independent legal advice. For the interest of the member, we have our own lawyers on staff, who advised us carefully in the performance of this chapter and in the interpretation of the legislation and how it was to be applied. Yes, I think it is fair to say that it's not a clear-cut case, but in writing our report we also wanted to reflect what was happening in terms of the application of this legislation within the departments and in reality. And that's why we chose, in terms of the wording, to very much focus on the fact that it is being picked up only for new and amended fees and not for existing fees.
On May 27th, 2008. See this statement in context.