Welcome to this meeting of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. I would like to thank Mr. Carroll for being here this morning.
As agreed, breaks will be given to the witness upon request at the discretion of the chair. I think 10-minute breaks would be appropriate, at appropriate times, but no more than three or four during the meeting.
Before we continue, for the benefit of our meeting and for the guidance of the committee as a whole, I would like to read a brief excerpt from the second edition of House of Commons Procedure and Practice. The committee members will note that Mr. Carroll is accompanied by his counsel, Paul Champ. This is permitted, based on page 1067-1068 of the French version of O'Brien-Bosc. I'll read from the English version.
Witnesses giving testimony may be assisted by counsel, but they must first seek the committee's permission. Counsel, when permitted, is restricted to an advisory role and may neither ask questions nor reply on the witness's behalf. Counsel is not noted in the Minutes of Proceedings as a witness, but rather as a participant or a person attending as an individual. There are no specific rules governing the nature of questions which may be put to the witnesses appearing before committees, beyond the general requirement of relevance to the issue before the committee. Witnesses must answer all questions which the committee puts to them. A witness may object to a question asked by an individual committee member. However, if the committee agrees that the question be put to the witness, he or she is obliged to reply. On the other hand, members have been urged to display the “appropriate courtesy and fairness” when questioning witnesses. The actions of a witness who refuses to answer questions may be reported to the House.
Having said that, I now invite Mr. Carroll to make his opening statement. He has a maximum of 10 minutes.
Mr. Andrews, do you wish to raise a point of order?