Information & Ethics committee  I think Mr. Barrett has put the letter on his website, has he not? You can see it. It's in the public domain.

Information & Ethics committee  [Inaudible—Editor]

Information & Ethics committee  That is the interpretation of the Prime Minister’s spokesperson.

Information & Ethics committee  That is his interpretation of what happened. Someone from the Prime Minister’s Office spoke to a member of the Commissioner’s Office and we gave our advice, that’s all.

Information & Ethics committee  We did not speak personally, no. That’s certain.

Information & Ethics committee  Can I answer the question that Mr. Green posed to me?

Information & Ethics committee  My answer is you are looking at the wrong section of the act. There is no inquiry there for Mr. Barrett. Mr. Barrett sent me a letter and asked me a couple of questions. I answered the questions. The portion that you invoked, subsection 44(3), which talks about frivolous, bad faith, etc., only applies if there has been a formal inquiry from a member of Parliament.

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly.

Information & Ethics committee  In a case like that, not in Mr. Trudeau’s, but in general, we would tell the person that what they are doing is legal, but it could have consequences on a political level. If the person still wants to go ahead, they can, but I’m required to tell them that, in my opinion, it will cause problems.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. It goes without saying that I’m required to explain to the person that it could cause problems.

Information & Ethics committee  No. Obviously, I do not impute bad faith to anybody.

Information & Ethics committee  No.

Information & Ethics committee  Those are confidential conversations.

Information & Ethics committee  Of course, I read that criticism. The Democracy Watch organization does not understand my position and how my office operates at all. First of all, if there is no conflict of interest in a given case, that is none of our business. We look into cases where people want an investigation.

Information & Ethics committee  As I told your colleague, confidentiality is essential to making the system work. The current system is based primarily on people's good faith. People explain the problem, and we try to find a solution. Then we give advice, and people follow it. In every case, the act requires that some of the information be made public.