This amendment should be voted down on the basis that it is a thinly veiled ruse to avoid the truth from breaking through and to avoid embarrassment. What they're really trying to do, Mr. Chair, by this amendment is stall and delay, hoping they will wear us down, because in two or three more meetings this Parliament will adjourn or even prorogue and this issue could be swept under the rug forever.
We have a responsibility as the freedom of information committee to ensure that does not happen. We have a profound duty. I firmly believe this is one of the most important committees in Parliament. It is a new committee. Its mandate was misunderstood and perhaps it was vague and people didn't pay too much attention to what we were doing, but freedom of information is a cornerstone of our democracy. It's fundamental and it's quasi-judicial in its importance.
Here we have the most egregious violation of the freedom of information laws in this country in history, that I've been made aware of. It is so rare to see the redacted version and compare it with the uncensored version and see just what they're eliminating. It is so rare for the government to be caught so bald-facedly denying the existence of a document. This government is clumsy in the way they treat these access to information requests.
I don't know how much longer we're going to tolerate the mischief, but it's a filibuster plain and simple, and I fully respect the right--