Mr. Chair, I am quite aware of the timelines that you have mentioned. However, changes have been made to the organizational structure that must also be taken into account. The Canada Public Service Agency was responsible for developing the code. And yet, the agency was abolished and its functions were integrated into Canada's Treasury Board Secretariat. The integration and reorganization did take quite a lot of time and effort. That is not to say that work on the code and the policy stopped, but things took a little longer because we had to focus on integrating Treasury Board's new roles and responsibilities.
Nevertheless, as Ms. Meredith indicated, we also conducted a thorough and comprehensive consultation with various organizations. We are still gathering comments on and responses to the various drafts.
This is the first time that a code is being developed for the entire public service. We are also settling legal issues. And so we still have a little work to do on a number of legal issues regarding the scope of job offers and employment conditions that we can apply at this point in time.
This is not a simple matter. Principles are straightforward, but implementation issues are quite complex.