Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for informing the House about some of the committee considerations.
The points with regard to the charter and privacy issues are very relevant and I hope to make a few comments on those later this day.
My concern, which I raised earlier, and perhaps the member could give his perspective on it, is with the new clause 164.1(1), which states:
A regulation made under this Act may incorporate by reference any material regardless of its source and either as it exists on a particular date or as amended from time to time.
It is a little concerning to me when a regulation incorporates by reference a document that can be changed from time to time. It would make it onerous for any legislator, never mind the public at large, to properly understand what the law says. For example, often the Income Tax Act is incorporated in legislation directly rather than by regulation simply because it is a document that provides substantive guidelines. However, to have matters incorporated by reference in a regulation, which is promulgated by cabinet and never seen by this place, because we do not see the regulations until after the bill has already passed, it leaves, in my view, a grey area in which the intent of the legislation may be stretched or even violated by a matter in a regulation that incorporates some other document, whatever it might be, by reference. It makes the legislation more cumbersome in my view.
I am wondering if the member could share with us whether the committee had some concerns about this and whether he is aware of why matters, which are--