Thank you, Chair.
Colleagues may have noticed that the official opposition presented no amendments. Just let me say at the beginning that after hearing the testimony of the President of the Treasury Board, a myriad of witnesses, and, most importantly, the commissioner herself, the official opposition has decided that Bill C-58 is beyond redemption.
That being said, hope springs eternal, and we will enthusiastically participate in the consideration of amendments. We know the President of the Treasury Board has indicated he may roll back a couple of the elements that the Information Commissioner has termed “regressive”. We look forward to participating.
Finally, it's interesting to note that Bill C-58 is composed of 58 pages of text. The Information Commissioner's condemnation of Bill C-58 amounted to 48 pages of text, and we have before us now amendments taking up 75 pages of text. I wanted to make clear that this is the reason we in the official opposition believe that despite the exercise before us, BIll C-58 is beyond redemption. The status quo would be preferred.