Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, in my career I've found that often the very challenging legal issues, and certainly the ones that tended to go all the way to the Supreme Court, which is where most of my advocacy was, were questions where there's no clear legal answer. There may not be one single legal answer.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Vaid case was a very important case for parliamentary privilege law and also for human rights law. It raised a number of issues. The main one came from the fact that the chauffeur of the then Speaker filed a complaint alleging that there had been discrimination against him in the context of his employment.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I did not have that opportunity so I based my understanding and my interest on what I knew of the office, what I had seen the office do in terms of legal participation. As the process progressed further, I was able to speak with people from within the government to get a sense of what the office was responsible for and the challenges that were coming forward.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm not in a position at this stage to compare my approach to that of my predecessors. What I can say is what I said in my remarks. The approach I will propose to bring to the position is similar to the one I brought to the commission. It's one of balance. It's one of impartiality.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that in the case of appointment procedures for some other officers of Parliament, or indeed for judges, some of those appointments are made by the executive branch. What I would look forward to is how my conduct in fulfilling the duties of this position and serving the House and its interests....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I had seen the poster for the position. I was familiar with the law clerk's office through my dealings with the office in litigation. I had always been impressed by the counsel and I always found that the issues involving the House of Commons legally were fascinating. So it was a combination of seeing this poster and then some contacts with some of my colleagues in the community bringing that position to my attention that led me to be consulted and to participate in this process to the headhunting and the normal course.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, vice-chairs and honourable members of the committee. It is a great honour and privilege for me to appear before you today to discuss my qualifications and competencies to perform the important duties of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons.