Senator Tannas: Your thoughts?

Senator Tannas: We’re arguing over how equivocal the government wants to be here. I wondered if the word “intent” in that paragraph is an equivocation.

Again, would it be possible and acceptable, if this house decided — and maybe you don’t want to answer an “if” question — that that stated intent become something like a public assurance or a public commitment?

Hon. Scott Tannas: This is more out of curiosity, I suppose, although it may have some utility, leader, but I wanted to ask, first of all, about the statement regarding taking note of the government’s stated intent: I think it is very creative, and makes many of us more comfortable in terms of saying goodbye to Senator Simons’s and Senator Miville-Dechêne’s excellent amendment — which I spoke in favour of, and which allowed me a reason to send it to the House of Commons.

Could you elaborate on the provenance of that passage? Did you develop it? If we wanted to amend it, would it be a government position that would have to involve the House of Commons? Is this a passage that we’re putting in here in the Senate, or was a compromise arranged with the other house that, if we edited it, it might cause a problem?