Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the member for alerting the committee to this issue.
Some parts of the report that was published raise concerns. There were probably some departments that didn't follow the guidelines put in place by Treasury Board. I would still like to say that the government is not there to spy on public servants or departments. There are guidelines in place to do surveillance, obviously while protecting privacy, and Treasury Board must ensure that the procedure followed is appropriate.
I've had the privilege of serving as President of the Treasury Board. So I know there are protocols in place. What really concerns me is that the departments probably haven't followed those protocols. I think it would be a good idea to ask them first if they have followed them. It's also a question of seeing the reasons why they wouldn't have followed, precisely, the protocols put in place by Treasury Board.
There may also be a case for asking the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to appear. We could see how this commissioner could review these departments' compliance with the guidelines, or take a closer look at the procedure. I think it might be a good idea to add the Privacy Commissioner to the witness list.
I'd like to raise one last point. I think it's too early to ask the President of the Treasury Board to come and testify first. Instead, we should ask the departments to appear. Then, among other things, we could ask the Privacy Commissioner to do so in turn.
I'll stop here, Mr. Chair, in terms of my comments on the motion. Later, after hearing from my colleagues, some amendments may follow.