In your opening remarks, you said at the outset that in the opinion of your department, it was important to protect democracy and that the bills being introduced sought to achieve this objective.
We know that one of the underlying reasons behind the introduction of Bill C-2 by the government is the fact that principles of democracy had been breached. The scandals that occurred in recent years resulted in court cases and even prison sentences. This bill is about the accountability of public servants and all officials generally. Another reason the government brought forward this bill had to do with issues surrounding access to information.
That is why I do not understand why Bill C-2 does not include genuine reform of access to information. I would like you to explain that for me. As you and a number of others said, this legislation dates back to 1983. Only a few minor changes have been made to it since that time.
As a result of all the scandals that have happened, a reform of this legislation would have been completely appropriate. Why did the government not reform the legislation as part of Bill C-2?