Mr. Chairman, draft audits, audit papers, and what not have been protected under the act for the last 23 years. They've never come out unless there has been a reason for them to come out, so there's nothing new in this.
We also have no problem in saying that the documentation and material on any investigation should be kept secret at least until the investigation is over. That makes eminent good sense, and we agree.
There are occasions, however, when it is necessary to be able to go back and trace what actually happened. There should therefore be a requirement for an injury test to demonstrate that great harm would happen if this information in fact came out beforehand. This has been the pattern that is followed in all of these other cases. For example, it is followed in the RCMP and CSIS. All the national security agencies of Canada come under the act.
In this act, we're actually going to try to give audit reports greater protection than we do for secrets all over the government. We simply think they should be treated in the same way. There should be an injury test and, if it's necessary, we should be able to move the material out when it's required.
I'm not alone on this. The integrity commissioner has also come to the same conclusion. It makes eminent good sense to be able to have this information available when required. An injury test provides protection to everybody concerned.