Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. First, thank you for having invited me to meet with the committee. Before I proceed, I wish to introduce my officials who are with me today: the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Robert Benson; the Director, Strategy and Policy

Information & Ethics committee  I would imagine there are a number of different purposes served by your offices being open, and I don't want to comment on those.

Information & Ethics committee  It could be, and there's always an opportunity some weeks later to raise the issue--

Information & Ethics committee  Or if you're lucky enough to have an MP who would like to bring the matter forward.

Information & Ethics committee  Not that I know of, although I haven't been party to all of those discussions.

Information & Ethics committee  I would not take that step. That's a personal comment, not a comment on a theory about who should take the next step, or how.

Information & Ethics committee  It means the inquiries we have just been referring to.

Information & Ethics committee  That, in fact, is just the nature of the legislation.

Information & Ethics committee  It's certainly something that Bill C-2 would change. Although I wasn't there at the time, I imagine in the first instance as the government was introducing the possibilities of inquiries, their interest was in the ministers and parliamentary assistants, etc. As time went on this

Information & Ethics committee  I'll refer the question to the deputy commissioner.

Information & Ethics committee  That's correct.

Information & Ethics committee  That's another question.

Information & Ethics committee  That's correct.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Well, it's the same type of thing.

Information & Ethics committee  No, there have been no discussions or further legal opinions. What was being referred to here is that the Prime Minister could not change the code to do something that was not made possible inside the Parliament of Canada Act. The Parliament of Canada Act made it necessary to go