Mr. Speaker, I would like some clarification and observations from the member on this issue. I know he has looked at this bill carefully.
The point I have been attempting to make and which I will continue to make is that there is a lack of an arm's length relationship between the CIHR and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will be appointing the president of the CIHR and the governing council of the CIHR. The governing council, after it is appointed by the Prime Minister, will appoint the advisory boards. There is linkage between every level of this organization and the Prime Minister's office. I am concerned that these people should be able to exercise their independence and they probably will not because of the Prime Minister's hand on the very institution we are talking about today.
In addition to the other points I have made, I remind the member and I want to tell the public especially that the governing council will appoint, lay off and terminate employees and establish all the standards. It will terminate employment at will. It will determine the organization and classification of positions within the CIHR. It will set the terms and conditions of employment. The list goes on. The governing council will establish, maintain and determine divisions in the CIHR to be called health research institutes, create the advisory board and appoint the scientific director.
I am looking for some sense of autonomy between this organization and the Prime Minister's office. In this piece of legislation I do not see that.
These are serious concerns that have to be addressed in the committee. As I said, we are prepared to support the bill, but the major concerns in terms of how this is set up, the structural component of this institution, have to be closely examined.
Before I sit down, the other point I will make for the hon. member to reflect on is on the reporting mechanism. There is no provision in the bill, other than for the minister to table a report in the House, for the House to debate the performance of this institution. We will not have an opportunity to do that.
In five years time, the government will review its operation, but in the meantime, the control has gone beyond parliament completely. Members of parliament will no longer have the opportunity to determine whether it is meeting its mark, whether it has missed it by a mile, or whether there has to be a rejigging of the configuration of the organization. So many different things are missing from this bill that should be addressed and can be addressed. I would like to have the member comment on that.