Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Nicholson, we don't have much time left, and probably we will not see each other back at this committee anytime soon. As you know, this is 2009. I'm telling you this to situate you in time and space. I'm going to read you something that the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, that is to say, this committee, passed quite recently, actually on February 11, 2009. This motion was tabled in the House of Commons the following day, on February 12, 2009. You can read the transcript, which will be made available. The motion reads as follows:
That the government introduce in the House, by May 31, 2009, a new, stronger and more modern Access to Information Act, drawing on the work of the Information Commissioner Mr. John Reid.
Mr. Nicholson, you haven't wasted your time here today. You know our position on the Access to Information Act. So you know exactly what you have to do. This motion was passed by this committee, with all parties present. There are four parties at the table, and there are 12 parliamentarians here today. The work that we are currently doing has been around for more than 20 years. Mr. Reid has done the work for the Liberal government, the Conservative government, the entire House of Commons and the Canadian Parliament.
The recommendation has been written down black on white, and it was tabled in the House of Commons. So you can't ignore it, Mr. Nicholson. So don't try to waste our time and sidestep the question. You know what the committee and the House of Commons expect of you. You can pass on the message to Mr. Stephen Harper, your leader, who promised to modernize the Access to Information Act. The motion that I read out to you was passed unanimously in November 2005, and then on division in September 2006. This committee passed it yet again in February 2009.
Thank you.