Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Maynard, for joining us today. I appreciated your opening comments, and I think no truer words, back in 2020, were spoken with regard to the collection of information, the duty to document and the retention of information.
I think what we're seeing today, as the Auditor General has pointed out and as you've pointed out in the report of the procurement ombudsman, is that there are gaps in documentation, either in creating it or in keeping it. We don't know whether documentation was never created or whether it was destroyed, and we need to get to the bottom of these questions as a committee that is responsible for ensuring that Canadians are getting good value for the money that is being spent on their behalf.
I know that your office investigates complaints from individuals who believe they have been denied their rights under the Access to Information Act and that you strive to ensure compliance with it. One of my concerns would be the inability of members of Parliament, through the work that they're doing on committees, to be able to access information. We've had to abandon a study that we were doing on outsourcing, with a specific focus on McKinsey, because we were not able to access documents. Not being able to access them meant that there were departments that simply refused to provide this committee with the information necessary to complete that study and come forward with any recommendations.
I also note that part of your role is to function in an advisory role to Parliament and parliamentary committees. What advice do you have for parliamentarians? How can your office help parliamentarians in their ability to access information from departments in trying to undertake their duties?