Mr. Reid, good morning and welcome. Thank you for your presentation.
I read with interest your opening statement as well as the special report you supplied to us. I would like to read a few excepts of the special report you tabled at the end of April. If afterwards, you wish to intervene to explain how Bill C-2 might be improved in order to correct this perception, then please interrupt me.
On page 10 of your special report, you state the following, and I quote:
What the government now proposes--if accepted--will reduce the amount of information available to the public, weaken the oversight role of the Information Commissioner and increase government's ability to cover-up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians.
For a bill that aims at ensuring transparency, this to my mind is quite a damning comment. Would you like to add anything, or is it clear enough?