Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to comment on the structure of the CIHR. I think it is problematic, but I would like his opinion on this.
What we have is the Prime Minister appointing the president of the CIHR and the governor in council, which in turn will determine what becomes an institute. In other words, we do not know yet what these institutes are. There is no transparency as to how many there will be or what they will be.
There is a problem in terms of this arm's length relationship that we would like to see between the CIHR and the Prime Minister's office. This arm's length relationship I guess could be called independence. The member could possibly speak on this lack of independence, as I see it.
Also, regarding a reporting mechanism, none of us know whether or not the goals and objectives of the CIHR will be achieved, but there is no measuring stick and no reporting back to parliament. Once the bill leaves the House of Commons it is out there in bureaucratic land somewhere. In five years time, when this agency is reviewed, there will be no input and no ability of parliament to have any input on the structure of this new organization.
I am saying all this, believe it or not, in the context of supporting the bill. We do support the bill, but I think some of these questions of independence, arm's length from government and the reporting mechanism have to be addressed in the bill. I am hoping the member can comment on that from a Quebec perspective.