Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have a couple of things here.
I worked on the committee on the Federal Accountability Act. I wasn't a named member, but I was on the Federal Accountability Act committee, served a lot of hours, and received a lot of cooperation, frankly, and support from the NDP at that time.
As you know, there were significant reforms to access to information brought forward by the Federal Accountability Act, including access to 70 new institutions. We know what those are--the Wheat Board, for example, Canada Post, the CBC.
These were significant steps. They were steps that no previous government under any stripe had ever undertaken. They were all about opening up access to information for Canadians.
I think subsequently we've seen a significant increase in the number of access requests, and I think that indicates that Canadians appreciated this being opened up. The result has been a significant increase in the number of access requests, which is what the government was looking to provide: greater access, more open access, and more broad access to information.
Certainly our position is that we're committed to transparency and openness. The record is clear. We brought in the Federal Accountability Act to back that up.
Thank you.