Okay.
I also had a meeting last Saturday for two hours with Mr. Greenspan and explained it fully to him in great detail, and our procedures, and of course that you have parliamentary protection--that anything you say here cannot be held against you in another jurisdiction, another court of law.
You also understand that this is not a court; this is a committee of the Parliament of Canada, which is looking into matters and wants to have information related to its order of reference.
We are going to proceed. As you know, the Speaker has provided you with a Speaker's warrant, which lays out specifically that you have access.... And I want to read it into the record: “That you allow Karlheinz Schreiber access to any place to retrieve any necessary document as may be needed as papers before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics”.
We want you to have full access. We want you to have the time to properly review them so that you can come before this committee and give fulsome answers to the questions that are posed to you, if you are able. We will certainly respect this order to the letter.
I would also want to indicate to you that the committee, also under this Speaker's warrant, indicates that your attendance before this committee is required from time to time until that attendance before this committee is no longer required, and that the committee will continue to deal with your testimony and members' questions--not cross-examination with lawyers, but the questions the members have--until such time that it is completed, other witnesses are heard, and it is determined by this committee that your presence would no longer be required. At that time we will give you formal affirmation that you are no longer required for the purposes of the committee. I can assure you that it will be some time, and we will keep you apprised on a regular basis.
I think we understand that you are at a disadvantage right now. We do want you to be fully prepared to address it. In discussion with the members of the committee, it was agreed that in order to facilitate you to be aware of the kinds of questions, the nature, the scope of those questions, we are going to move now to the round we would normally have to pose those questions. Those questions will be on the record. The members have a seven-minute time slot to advise you of the areas of interest.
You may wish to answer any or all of those questions if you are able, but I understand if you are unable you will undertake to answer those at a future meeting. We will provide you within one hour of this meeting with a transcript of these proceedings verbatim so that you have full knowledge of the questions.
When you return.... Will you be able to return here next Tuesday? Maybe you can consult with your lawyer as to whether next Tuesday at 11 a.m. is acceptable.