Mr. Chairman, the reason for the changes, as Ms. Lee outlined, is correct. Thank you.

Clause 4. Agreed?

Clause 5. Mr. Handley.

The motion is in order. To the motion. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My memory is coming back on the work that we did in AOC. If I remember correctly, this one amendment was something that invited a lot of debate, and I'm not sure if we still have a satisfactory compromise on that. I do believe the question was whether or not... Because the equal pay commissioner's office is like a lot of similar statutory offices, we would like to make sure that when we are passing legislation that there is a degree of independence in the powers and authorities that go with that for the holder of this office to do the job that they need to do and they're required to do, subject to this law. I believe the question was that having the Minister, as was originally intended or worded, make the regulations that would not result in this office being sufficiently independent. But, Mr. Chairman, I still have a concern about this, because the way our system of government words, the Commissioner's office is very much tied to the government as a whole. I think there is a very important point to be made, that in an office like this that we would like the office holder to be as independent as possible. So I'd like to ask if our legal advisor could tell us as to whether or not her research shows that giving the regulatory-making powers to the Commissioner in Executive Council will give this office sufficient independence. I'm sure there's another word that I'm thinking of, I can't think of, independent and self-sufficiency or something like that. Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that there is agreement on this one, that it achieves what it is that we were discussing with the committee. Regulations may be necessary to address the technical matters in the implementation of the legislation. While there aren't any contemplated, this provision allows it to be made when and if the need arises. Mr. Chairman, once the equal pay commissioner has been appointed, his or her expertise will be an important resource in making any such regulations. These changes ensure that regulations made related to the statutory appointment are done by the Speaker, and any remaining regulations related to equal pay would be made by the Commissioner in Executive Council. This means that the government, as represented by Cabinet, makes the recommendations to the Commissioner. This, Mr. Chairman, is consistent with the provisions elsewhere in the country. Thank you.

To the motion. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that answer, but also we do know that we have a form of system of government that's quite different than the rest of the country. Our Commissioner's office is very much like a Lieutenant Governor's office, and the Commissioner of the day follows the directions and recommendations of Executive Council. Executive Council is made up of Cabinet Ministers. My question is how can we ensure that by having... Anything that would have to go through Executive Council in order to go to the Commissioner has to go to one of the Cabinet Ministers who would bring it to the council. So how can we be satisfied that any Minister of the day would not be in a position to have a say on what sort of regulatory changes that the Commissioner would recommend in their assessment and their judgment? Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, the form of our government, it's true, it's different than the provincial governments. But in provinces, it's the Lieutenant Governor in Council; in ours it's the Commissioner in Executive Council. The process is still the same. The Minister would bring the proposed changes to the Executive Council or Cabinet and it would proceed from there. Thank you.

To the motion. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the opportunity. We have other statutory officers like the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, Official Languages Commissioner or Privacy Commissioner. I can't think of all the details, but a lot of the direction... For many aspects of their job, they report directly to the Legislative Assembly. Why could we not, or did we, consider having the equal pay commissioner come directly to the legislature, rather than going to the Executive Council? Thank you.

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, the Speaker has the regulation-making authority related to the statutory appointment, the appointment of the equal pay commissioner. All of the other provisions and regulations with regard to the implementation of the Public Service Act and the provisions within it are made by the Executive Council on the advice of our recommendation to the Minister. I think that's pretty standard across government. Thank you.

Motion is on the floor. Ms. Lee.

So could I just ask the Minister again, why then didn't we combine these two responsibilities? Why do we separate some aspects of it to the Speaker and some aspects to the Commissioner in Executive Council?

Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, the regulations related to the statutory appointment are made by the Speaker, because this position reports to the Speaker. But the regulations that deal with the implementation of the Public Service Act are made by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Minister, because it is that Minister who is responsible for the administration of the Public Service Act. Thank you.

Motion is on the floor. To the motion.

Question is being called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Clause 5, as amended.