We respectfully understand the position of the law clerk and what has been explained to this committee, and our approach to the production of documents is sensitive to the powers of the House of Commons and its committees to request production of documents and the role of members of the House of Commons in holding the government to account.
However, the public service's position is animated by other considerations, including respect for other laws enacted by Parliament. Successive governments have taken the view that laws enacted by Parliament itself prohibit the disclosure of certain types of documents.
Going back to my last appearance, we talked about some of the initial redactions from the Privy Council Office documents that were around commercial sensitivities and around privacy. The Privacy Act explicitly prevents us from being able to share that information without the consent of the individual. What we did at PCO is that we actually went to the individual to seek that consent, in keeping with the law—