Mr. Chair, let's set the record straight.
No one on this side of the room is refusing to co-operate here. All we are explaining to the committee is that there is a system. We have been asking the agency for emails for 17 years. It's a matter of a system. The experts are telling us that this takes time.
The members on this side of the room want the same thing as our colleagues on the other side, which is to shed light on this issue. Some people are claiming today that we are not acting in good faith because we are explaining that the systems need time to find the documentation to be
responsive to the requests made by our colleagues. Anyone would understand that if you're asking today for 17 years of emails from an agency, that they need the time with the proper system to be responsive. That's what we're doing, but I will not accept the argument from colleagues that we're not being responsive. We're responsive, but we need to deal with the systems that are in place. We want to give a full answer, but we need the time to do it. That's what the department says.
There's no portraying us as not collaborating. We are co-operating. We checked the systems and people are telling us they need more time. That's the simple answer.