Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. I would just like to thank the committee members.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  First and foremost, Mr. Chair, to speak to committee member's point, some of those changes are not really in my ambit to speak about. It's the intelligence agencies—the collectors, assessors and disseminators of intelligence—that would have thoughts on that. To finish, I would go back to my previous comments and to the previous comments of other senior deputy ministers who have appeared here about the changes that they've put in place.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, that is my recollection of the events.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again, I will echo what many people have said: There need to be better ways in which intelligence is not only shared but also identified and flagged for individuals when there's a reason for it to be.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question—and for your thoughts, to be honest. There is a lot there. I will try to answer as quickly as I can, I promise. First, protecting parliamentarians is extremely serious for parliamentarians and democracy. There are systems in place for that. There are places to go.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for your question. Madam Chair, I think one of the important things when we look at intelligence—and I partly referenced this in my last response—is that it is but one picture. You need to ensure that what you may be providing to more senior decision-makers is never taken out of context, and that it is put into proper context.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. Madam Chair, I have a few comments on this, if I may. I think it's more than just multiple doors of intelligence being produced and then disseminated. We do know—and I think the committee has heard—about the enormous volumes of intelligence that are created every year.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Your timeline is correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thanks for the question, Madam Chair. There are a few things that I would like to take a moment to briefly go over. One is that I actually appreciate your comments about not laying blame. When public service officials appear before committee, we try—certainly, that's my mantra—to help the committee understand.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. There was a lot there. I think I'll address your last point and your last question. I rely on, stand by and agree with the testimony of several previous witnesses. If I look at one of the comments that was made, there was a breakdown in the process—it was not only a breakdown in the process but, I think, it was an insufficient process, so we have rectified those problems.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Chair, I can confirm the exact dates that I acted. I believe it was a Friday. It was July 15 to...I believe it was a Tuesday, because of the long weekend of August 3, which is two and half weeks. Yes, you are correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I don't have an exact date of when I first read that memo, but it was in the spring or early summer of this year.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. That is correct, Madam Chair.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I have a few things for some context. Thank you for the question, by the way. As it has been explained previously—and certainly based on my experience working in the national security community—intelligence is sent out and shared through various means. For example, I was provided intelligence when I was in my role through the electronic system or the top secret classified system.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Chair, I can confirm that the document—the intelligence assessment—did not come directly to me. I checked my personal holdings back when I was still working for the Privy Council Office. Where it went in the Privy Council Office, when it was sent out and to what other offices, I don't know.