If I could continue, Madam Chair, I have been in Parliament now for seven years and I have not seen a committee approach a study in this particular manner. It is quite a surprise to me, actually. I have heard some inklings of this through reading newspaper reports, but it's quite surprising to be in a dynamic where a witness makes a comment and a member of Parliament is restrained from following up on that comment.
Here we have a witness who has mentioned a run-in with government. It's absolutely appropriate, Madam Chair, when you have a witness who has raised concerns about how this government is treating access to information, and quite relevant, to compare those with the concerns that were expressed about the CBC, and where, clearly, the CBC has responded. Both in previous testimony before this committee and in testimony we've received since, it's clear that the CBC has been dealing effectively with following up on the unprecedented numbers of access to information requests they've received from Sun Media.
We now have a witness who has raised other concerns regarding run-ins with the government on access to information. In three particular areas—the Prime Minister's Office, Industry Canada, and Environment Canada—we've seen a systematic stalling and, often, a refusal, around access to information requests.
I have followed up on the witness's comments about run-ins with government. I will ask him if he could compare his concerns about the CBC to concerns that he has raised with the government in the past, which, as you know, Madam Chair, is perfectly relevant. He could compare the concerns about CBC access to information requests--which they are responding to--with the government's refusal to respond to access to information requests or where there has been no movement.