Mr. Chair, the very existence of this motion stems from the fact that the RCMP witness, Mr. Sage, explicitly refused to be transparent, explicitly refused to answer our questions, and explicitly refused to give us any information. He even refused to admit that the contracts we are trying to obtain today exist. So, in the circumstances and in the context of this public contract, I think it is entirely appropriate to ask for the documents as they are. As parliamentarians, we will accept our responsibilities, including any obligation of confidentiality.
I'd like to come back to the question of co-operation. I understand that sometimes requesting such unredacted documents could be seen as potentially discouraging potential co-operation from witnesses. However, in this case we are dealing with a public official who refuses to co-operate with members of Parliament. I think it is important that the committee have access to the documents as they are, i.e., unredacted.