2. The legislature passes the amendments to the Travel Agents Act and the minister of tourism proceeds to draft regulations to establish the compensation fund. The regulations provide that all licensed travel agencies must pay a specified amount into the fund each year. Every agency must pay the same amount, regardless of size and income. However, the amount may be increased or decreased based on the number of past claims against the agency. The minister announces the amount that each travel agency will be required to pay into the fund each year. The Consumers' Association of Canada complains that the amount of the payment is too low and that the criteria for compensation are too narrow to provide travellers with fair compensation. The travel agencies, on the other hand, claim that it is unfair to increase the amount of contribution based on claims against travel agencies because problems that travellers encounter are often beyond the agency's control. In addition, small agencies claim that the proposed contribution is too high and will put them out of business. They feel that it would be fairer to base the contributions of individual agencies on their annual incomes. a. Is the government required by principles of procedural fairness to provide any individuals or groups with an opportunity to be heard before making the regulation? If not, why not? If so, who is entitled to procedural fairness and what kind of consultation or hearing would satisfy the requirements of procedural fairness under these circumstances? b. Would your answer be any different if, in a letter to the Travel Agents' Association, the minister of tourism had stated two years earlier that he understood the need to take into account the size of travel agencies in setting fees and would consult with the association before making a regulation, but did not consult? Explain.