Thanks, Chair.
Well, we asked our two experts for their opinions, and we heard them, so it seems to me that the common-sense thing to do is to hear the assistant privacy commissioner in public. Our goal is always to be in public as much as possible and to exhaust all our questions and discussions there. Mr. Walsh has made it clear that....
You know, I've been on this committee a long time, and this is not an unusual procedure that we would go in camera to take legal advice. I would ask colleagues to remember that it's not just a matter of wanting to look like a good small-d democrat to the public that's watching; we have obligations too--for instance, the House: we are a committee of the House.
If we ask some questions...or something is said publicly that limits, in any way, options for us or the House because we didn't take the advice of the parliamentary law clerk to take his advice in camera, then the House has every right to turn to us and say, “What were you thinking? You asked the law clerk whether you should be in camera or not. He said it was best if you went in camera so that he could give you full, frank answers. You didn't do it. Now you've ended up tying our hands. Thanks very much, public accounts committee.”
I'm here in the fourth party. I'm the one who should have the easiest time saying we should do everything in public and damn the torpedoes. But that's not the responsible thing to do. The torpedoes do matter.
As well, Mr. Chair, Mr. Kramp said we're not going to discuss the elements of a specific case. I would disagree: that is exactly what we are doing. The procedural answers, I grant you, are similar, but the questions we're going to ask will be very germane to the case in front of us. That's why we asked him to come here.
So I feel very comfortable taking the advice of the assistant privacy commissioner in dealing with this presentation in public in all its entirety; then that we would go in camera, on the advice of the parliamentary law clerk, and have our full, frank legal discussion; and then that we would return to continue our business in public.
Thank you.