Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The fact is that they are a task within a department. While they are an agency of this government, you cannot isolate Arctic College from its accountability or the expenditures in this House. You cannot dissociate the Minister's responsibility for the resources that you vote for that institution. That has been the problem that has existed in this country, right across Canada, for post-secondary institutions. It is a very big discussion issue that is resulting in some very serious questions about how post-secondary institutions operate in isolation, in many respects, from government with no accountability for the public funds that are allocated to them. I don't disagree with the concept of independence, but independence without accountability is a very significant risk that we take that one should be cautious about.

The other point is that, in the final analysis, when we get to the strategy and approve the strategy for Arctic College, it may be that many of the questions the honourable Member is raising may be better addressed in that document and upon the approval of that document, but I would be very careful about the concept of an absolutely independent body of authority with the Arctic College board because they, in the end, have to be accountable here. It is a very significant issue across the country, as I pointed out.