Thank you very much, Chair.
Thanks to my colleagues for being able to return to this important discussion.
I have two large questions in relation to this motion that I think would be helpful for us to have a discussion about. One is that it's in the public interest to ensure that we continue our investigation and get to the bottom of foreign interference and charitable donations.
I also recognize that it is a tremendous thing we're asking for. We're asking that the committee use its power and force to do something that I think has largely not been done in Canadian history before, which is to look at a private organization, a private group, and attempt to force the CRA to demonstrate documents so that we can review them in this committee. I understand what we're doing here, but I also want to find a way to balance the force we're using, which is a tremendous amount of force, and I think the public deserves accountability for that level of power and the benefit that doing this kind of procedure will offer us.
In order to maximize the benefit.... I agree that we should do what we can to investigate the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, but I also think that there's a big question of whether this is the appropriate amount of power to be using to do this. I'm inclined to make it more worth our while, if we can, and maybe even look into other instances where charitable donations have been received by political parties. This is an attempt to expand this motion, if we have agreement across all our groups.
I think I've heard from everyone here who suggests that we are here for the public interest in investigating instances of foreign interference and other levels of interference in our electoral system by way of donations. There have been organizations, not just the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, that have engaged in this across Canada.
If we're going to be using this power, I see an opportunity for us to go even further and create more transparency for Canadians by including a list of other organizations, if we have, let's say, a week to give that to you, Chair, to make it even more worth our while. If we're going to be using this extraordinary power, why not?