Thank you, Chair, and thank you, witnesses.
I'd like to start with Mr. Jack. Mr. Jack, you stated pretty flatly that you have never have asked for or been given the names of applicants. But it's your name that's on the top of this e-mail we all have. You circulated the name of the applicant in this case. You published it. Even if it wasn't you who asked for it, you are party to it, maybe inadvertently, even innocently. But you circulated this to a list of people. I'm not sure who all these people are, the people you sent it to. I recognize Sandra Buckler's name.
The point isn't whether you asked for or wanted the name of the applicant. The point is that you took part in circulating it far and wide. So the issue isn't even how easy it is to figure out who the applicant was, as Mr. Roberts mentioned. Sometimes it's not a difficult task, as evidenced by the students in the U.S. who knew very readily who the applicant was. The issue is what people like Sandra Buckler would do with that information once it's circulated to them—that's what worries us at this committee.
If you have the right to equal treatment and timely access, I would argue that you also have the right to the expectation of privacy as an applicant. If you're in the media, or you're a different type of applicant, you have a legitimate fear of reprisals if people find out who's asking these annoying questions.
I'm not being overly critical of you, Mr. Jack. I don't accuse you of taking part in anything untoward here, but you were party to circulating this information that I argue should never have been circulated to this list of people or anybody else.
Do you agree, basically, that the name of the applicant shouldn't be circulated far and wide, the way it was in this e-mail?