Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the work the analysts undertook over the course of the last two weeks. We received this halfway through the last week, so they did it with two fewer working days than they would normally have—the Good Friday and Easter Monday holidays, which I hope they were able to take while preparing this.
I'd like to draw attention to the section on the disregard for the requirement for ESDC to properly respect their obligations to provide documents in both official languages. That is a critical component of the breach of privilege that occurred here. Of course, we hear the terms “breach of privilege” and “contempt”, and sometimes they are used haphazardly. When it comes to the power of a committee to send for persons and papers, that is not negotiable, though we have negotiated and given multiple opportunities. Those dates are very carefully, meticulously outlined in this report. The same is true with respect to the attention paid to the disregard for the obligation to respect both official languages. I don't need to give anyone lessons on minority language rights, but it sounds as if someone needs to give a lesson to ESDC on minority language rights.
That's why I move that the seventh report, as tabled by the analysts today, be adopted and reported to the House.