Thank you.
In French, it says: "The new conflict of interest policy is expected to retain substantially the same requirements as the current policy [...]”
A short while ago, you said that this was a simple matter, but that its implementation was complicated. Heavens, I wouldn't want it to be really complicated for the Treasury Board Secretariat! If it must substantially retain the same requirements as the current policy, how can it be so complicated? The question is simple, but the answer also seems to be simple. You know this, it is written in your opening statement.
If I may, I am going to keep going so that I do not run out of time.
At 9:23 this morning, we were emailed your action plan by your office, the Treasury Board Secretariat. The clerk received it. The committee meeting started at 10 o'clock. Could you tell us exactly when, between 9:23 this morning and the start of this committee meeting, at 10 o'clock, you decided to extend by three months the time required to implement these new policies?
According to the first version, this was to be implemented by the end of March 2011. However, today, you decided to give yourself the entire spring to do this. This all started in 2005, and it was implemented in 2007. You will agree, everything, or nearly everything, is delayed. Certain incidents occur and put you in a situation where you no longer have any choice, but now you are extending the amount of time required to implement this.
Could you be a little bit more serious about this? Let us be clear, you have not been serious about this for years. Between 9:23 this morning and 10:00 a.m., when the committee meeting started, you gave yourself an additional three months for the implementation of these policies. Could we have some explanation? It is complicated and, at the same time, it is being dragged out. And yet you said that this was simple. That is what is written in the third paragraph.