The point in this amendment is that under sub-paragraph (n) of the section the Minister may make regulations providing for the supplementing of regulations by directions given from time to time by the appropriate Minister. We repeated yesterday on all sides of the House much of what has been said in the past with regard to legislation by regulation and we have all agreed that it is a dangerous thing and something not to be extended unnecessarily. Here, to my mind, is something which is exceedingly objectionable from that point of view. It provides for the supplementing of regulations by directions, and the very lack of definition in the particular wording used there seems to me to imply that you are going to give these directions — whatever they may mean — the force of a regulation, and that simply means giving them legislative force.
The Minister should clear up a few points for us. He should tell us what kind of direction is involved. We are quite clear where we stand with regard to Statutory Rules or Orders made. They are made duly under the authority of some particular statute, that is, directly under the authority of this House. They are usually hedged by such a provision as the Minister proposes to put in his amendment to the section and it is generally thought to be desirable in all such cases. This is about the only safeguard there is, namely, that this regulation will be tabled and can be annulled under certain circumstances even though that annulment is usually without prejudice to anything done under the regulation as it is. That is to some extent a safeguard, but here it is quite clear that supplementary directions so given would not be captured by that clause which the Minister is later going to introduce. Furthermore, it is questionable whether such directions could be ever tracked down except they happen to be produced by the Minister or his Department in some relevant issue. I think that is an undesirable situation. If there are going to be directions I see no reason why these directions should be given the force of an Order instead of remaining as they have been heretofore, administrative directions but as such, of course, not carrying the force of legislation when it comes to a dispute between a citizen and the Department or even a question of a dispute within the Department.