Yes, I would advise against that, because in my experience there's a conflict of interest there. It would make it very hard for the ombudsman to be able to conduct the job as objectively and impartially as the ombudsman can when they report to Parliament through a committee. The minister's job, as I said in French, is to put forward the best footing of the department. The difficulty arises when the ombudsman identifies systemic issues within the department, which may reflect badly on the minister. It brings together the whole issue of ministerial accountability. And it makes it very hard for an ombudsman.... It's doable, but it just makes the job very difficult and you have to do a lot of skating as an ombudsman.
On November 1st, 2006. See this statement in context.