I would be surprised too, but you never know. This is the problem with Bill C-49. It was given a very impressive title: an act to authorize remedial and disciplinary measures in relation to members of certain administrative tribunals, to reorganize and dissolve certain federal agencies and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. Is it not great! A better title would have been: an act to profit the friends of the Liberal Party of Canada. It would have been more to the point and more accurate, truer and franker. Of course they would not have the guts to do that, but this really is the spirit of the bill.
When, for example, the chairperson of an administrative tribunal realizes that refusing an application to the CRTC from a member of the family of the Prime Minister would be synonymous with loss of job, he or she says yes. Should that chairperson have the misfortune to be honest and fair, after all he or she is exercising the duties he or she has sworn to perform and deny the application-as it happened with PowerTv Direct-the minister, by the powers he has provided for himself would-
The hon. member for Vaudreuil will understand it is not enough that justice be done. I said the hon. member for Vaudreuil, Madam Speaker, looking at you of course. I tell you that the hon. member for Vaudreuil-even if you tried to psyche me out, but I recovered-should understand that it is not enough that justice be done there should also be a perception that justice has been done. There should be an appearance of justice, no matter what the hon. member for Vaudreuil might say. That is what will not come out of decisions now. That is what will ensure we will always be-You know, with the opinion the public has of politicians, this is not going to improve matters.
There are some rules within an administrative tribunal. The administrative tribunals have been called, it is not I who say it, but a journalist, and it is true, because we can find the same definition in Dussault, René Dussault, a former Liberal candidate in Quebec and a superior court judge. Recently, the president of the bar in Quebec was very clear on that when she said, and I quote: "The lack of employment security could have unsuspected psychological effects on the decisions of a person who might be more concerned with pleasing the authorities than doing justice." This is self-explanatory.
As hard as the Liberals may try to defend that, they are defending the undefensible, and the public will hold it against them. When justice will no longer be meted out by an administrative tribunal unless a Liberal Party membership card is displayed, the Liberals will have to give some explanation and then live with the consequences.