Mr. Speaker, one of the hallmarks of a democracy is an independent judiciary. In 1997 the Supreme Court stated that there were three components of judicial independence: security of tenure, administrative independence, and financial security. As a result of that case, every jurisdiction set up a commission, a Judicial Remuneration Commission, including ours, and every four years they give us a report. I think this is the third or fourth report.
It's not a negotiation in a sense but both sides, if I can put it that way, represented by counsel, put their arguments forward. The commission determined that an increase was merited. In the first year it'll be approximately 4.5 per cent and the three following years it'll be the Consumer Price Index plus 1.5 per cent. There is an increase and this increase is not really subject to any further negotiation. We've agreed to be bound by the findings of the commission. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.