Thank you, Mr. Chair.
There are a few comments I want to make. I know that we promised accountability legislation, and we brought that in. We know, as has been said here, that the Accountability Act enacted some pretty significant reforms to the Access to Information Act. It certainly extended its reach, and it brought in more groups underneath the Access to Information Act. I think those things were well received. I think they were things that were needed to be done and I think they were huge steps for government to take. I think they have proven to be good moves.
My colleague has talked about the increase in the number of requests, and I think that's good. I think any time we can increase transparency and openness, that's what we need to be doing. I think this Federal Accountability Act has helped to do that with the reforms to the Access to Information Act.
The minister talks in this letter about his reasons and about his thinking with regard to what the committee needs to be doing. He says that he explained that the discussion paper outlined the main issues raised by the former Information Commissioner, Mr. John Reid, and that these issues required further consultation and study. He then goes on to say that the most productive and effective activity that this committee could undertake would be to conduct a full study of access reform, with a particular focus on the discussion paper. He's actually given us some information in this letter about what he would like us to do, but he has also focused it to a direct part of the access reform.
I think it behooves this committee to do that. When he talks about further consultation and study, I think that's what this committee is supposed to be doing: consulting and studying. I think the minister has been very clear in this second letter that we've received, and I think we have a clear directive on how we can move forward as a committee.
Thank you.