Evidence of meeting #1 for Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in the 39th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Claude Bachand Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I would like to know whether the subcommittee will define the mandate of this committee. I think we will have to make sure that we do not duplicate everything that has been done in other committees. We must have a rather specific mandate. We should start by working on the mandate of this committee.
Are you contemplating that the subcommittee, the steering committee will, at its first meeting, develop this mandate, which will then be submitted to us at the first meeting of our committee?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Pierre Lemieux
Thank you, Mr. Bachand.
Are there other points of discussion? The subcommittee will examine the mandate of our committee and will also discuss its future business.
Bloc
Claude Bachand Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
I would like to deal with another point, Mr. Chair.
If we want to fulfil our mission successfully, we must have as much information as possible on what is happening in Afghanistan. We may not be able to discuss it today, but we will have to do so at some point. I have already raised the issue at the Standing Committee on National Defence. I am not saying that we should have access to classified information every time, but we should be able, some day, to know exactly what is going on in the field.
Of course, there is another aspect to this. If there are 50 journalists waiting at the door, we cannot explain what has been happening during these briefing sessions during which classified information has been shared.
If we examine how various international committees are operating in the United States and in Great Britain, we realize that some of them have access to classified information. This greatly helps them make more informed and appropriate decisions.
Are you suggesting that I should come back to this question? Or could we discuss it today?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Pierre Lemieux
I would ask you to come back to it later on, because this will give me the opportunity to discuss this issue with the clerk and learn about the operation of other committees. Thank you.
Are there any other issues?
Thank you very much, colleagues.
The meeting is adjourned.