Mr. Chair, one of the recommendations for amending the legislation that I intend to propose is allowing our office—though we recognize there has to be some kind of reasonable limitation on our powers—to have access to information in the hands of the private sector.
Very often, as you point out, and I agree with you, that information is in the hands of a former public servant. Even if we could have access to the information in those hands, or have the ability to accept that information, not just to accept it if it's offered to us, but to actively seek information necessary for us to complete an investigation.... Fortunately, that has not posed a major practical hurdle for us to date. Quite frankly, given the amount of information available within the public sector, and the respect that all departments and public servants and deputy ministers have demonstrated when we investigate, information is shared with us in total without question. We have a marvellous level of cooperation, but yes, access outside the public sector would be an important amendment from my perspective.