Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for their attendance today. This is a very important and serious issue for not only Canadians but also the public service. I want to start by looking at some legal principles.
Every Canadian, and that includes every public service employee, has an absolute right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure, pursuant to section 8. Although you've testified, sir, that in some cases legal authorization was obtained, you can't say for certain that in all cases authorization was obtained. That raises charter considerations. A breach of a section 8 right is a serious violation that, hearkening back to my years as a Crown prosecutor, quite often was not met with success. There are strict consequences for the privacy rights of Canadians as upheld by courts across this country.
That backdrop was important for me to frame this question. When I look at the 13 institutions that were identified, there's no guarantee that these are the only 13 institutions that have been using this technology. Is that a fair assessment, sir?