Thank you, Chair.
Mr. Marleau, it's hard to overestimate the importance of your office. We've heard other witnesses and heard people say that freedom of information is a fundamental cornerstone of our western democracy. People have called it quasi-constitutional. Once again, your office is at the eye of the hurricane, at ground zero of a crisis of confidence in the government.
If the Prime Minister and his government knew the realities about the Afghan detainees and chose to hide the truth, then they have broken faith with the Canadian people on a monumental scale. The sponsorship scandal was only about money; this is about the fundamental values by which Canadians define themselves. This is the kind of thing that brings governments down. I'm not overstating that at all. It's not going to be enough that a minister falls on his sword, this could in fact bring down the government. Your office is at the heart of it, and you've told us you have a backlog of 1,057 cases.
I have two questions.
One, if directed to do so by this committee, can you fast-track this investigation and jump the queue, as it were?
Second, what form will your report ultimately take? As I mentioned, this is of critical national and international interest.
Those are my questions to start.