Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you so much, Madam Chair. What a delight it is to be here with you. I'm joined by my colleague Michel Cormier, executive director of the commission. With me also is Chantal Ouimet, the Commission's Director of Communications and Public Relations. We are very lucky to hav

Procedure and House Affairs committee  To answer the last question, which is the easiest, we'll certainly do our best and will undertake to fulfill the mandate as well as possible. With respect to your first question, I can't answer it, and you know that I can't. However, with respect to my independence, for me that

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for what do every day and for your public service. It's a great delight to be here.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would say in general that they are quite positive and quite interested. Much of it has been asking us to explain more about our mandate and what we're doing. The kind of question that Mr. Scarpaleggia just asked is frequently on their minds, and how they interact with us, etc.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We have given some indication in the request for proposals as to what we think would be the largely appropriate time without insisting that it is the time. It's roughly two to three weeks before the actual debates. We will ask for a specific answer on that from the consortium bid

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If there's a chance of what?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's an interesting question of timing. I think we would like it as early as possible. That doesn't necessarily work in terms of parties' organizing their schedules and their appropriate activities. What we will do though, in the discussions with the winning consortium, is try

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Is there what on the coat of arms?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You know, I'd love to give a The Da Vinci Code answer that we planted something in there. Some have suggested it. I'm very interested in information technology. I chaired the information highway advisory, two councils, some years ago as it was coming. The suggestion is that there

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Please notice that there were five books on that coat of arms, as well. That's for my five daughters. As Grandpa Book, I believe a lot in learning.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It came by an order in council.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. Very broadly, it will be to do a post-mortem on these two debates—what was good, what was bad and what metrics are we setting up to try to do that in some sensible way? Then more broadly, is this experiment of a debates commission good, bad or indifferent—something your com

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We go to our mandate. It's an important question, and we debated this a lot, the degree to which you are standoffish and let the players in the field participate and the degree to which you are pre-emptive. When we go to our mandate, it asks us to carry off at least two national

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, would you be kind enough to invite me back monthly?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have not given you a thorough answer to that question.