Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for joining us today. I am very glad to hear from them. It's good to know how the bill is perceived by the people on the ground who run the ports on a daily basis.
Mr. Paquin, on Monday, witnesses told us that they were very concerned about the minister's desire to claim the power to appoint the chairs of the ports' boards of directors. For our part, we fear that this could lead to political appointments that would not necessarily be in the best interests of the ports.
In what I heard today, both from Mr. Gooch and from you during your presentation, I sensed that you weren't hiding what you had to say and that you felt free to speak. So I was wondering what you thought about this aspect, among others. I was also wondering what effect it might have on the discussion we're having today. Would this discussion and the circumstances be the same if a chair felt directly accountable to the government, or if their appointment had been political in nature?