Procedure and House Affairs committee  In our system, as in any other, it may be a concern if people cannot get written opinions on various matters that are subject to interpretation. In the area in which I work at the moment, we do provide opinions in writing on controversial issues. For me, this is a way of ensuring that the rules are enforced in a consistent and foreseeable way.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Definitely. Unless I am mistaken, those provisions of the act are in force. So they must be acted upon. They are not yet in force?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will be very frank with you, Mr. Godin. So far, I have not had an opportunity to do that, and I have been very careful not to request any information from Elections Canada. The first step was to come here to meet with you today and to await your decision. If you were to approve my nomination, my priority would be to make myself more familiar with Elections Canada and to understand its priorities and policy direction.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have no specific plans in this regard, and I have no information that would lead me to think that the team in place does not deserve the full confidence of the Chief Electoral Officer and the other people involved in the elections system. In fact, my impression is that this is a robust, experienced organization that knows how to run elections very well, as it has proven over the last 10 years.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Particularly since the amendments to the act in 1992, there is a very strict separation between the superintendent and the department's administrative authority. Any questions regarding insolvency that could be raised and could be of interest to the department are to be dealt with by a section other than the Superintendent's Office.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Not exactly, no.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I hope to have an opportunity to meet with Mr. Kingsley. I know that his resignation was effective last Friday. Nevertheless, I do hope to speak with him, and of course, I do intend to meet the management team at Elections Canada.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  To the third question, I would certainly answer that, yes, I think this committee and probably other consultation forums that you've pointed out should be providing input on what those acceptable pieces of identification should be. On the all-party consultations, I haven't had any briefings from Elections Canada at this point in time, so I'm not familiar with the various networks--if I can refer to them that way--in place to carry out consultations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will certainly look into it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I did not know what position I would be asked to fill. I was simply asked whether I was interested in a career change at this point in my professional life.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I did nothing along those lines.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, it depended on the conditions involved and the nature of the position.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was approached by the Privy Council Office.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think I do have adequate management experience. I headed a highly decentralized organization—it has 14 offices throughout the country. This organization has a very specific mandate under the legislation, and it carries it out independently. Most decisions made by the office are subject to review by the courts, either a bankruptcy court or the Federal Court.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, I have not—not at any level, nor in any capacity.