Thank you, Chair.
I will proceed.
What they have done is to not actually directly engage the production issue. They have said, well, we're going to take out a couple of these additional sections such that if the documents—and these two paragraphs, (g) and (h), deal with the follow-up that would happen if the documents were not produced—are not produced, there has to be a process of follow-up, or else the government is just going to not produce the documents, which is their stated intention anyway.
But rather than directly change the motion to remove the document production order, they have tried to change the motion to remove the enforcement mechanism, the necessary follow-up enforcement mechanism that would actually ensure these documents are provided.
We have heard some say well, if the documents aren't provided, then we can consider what we're going to do at that point. Well, I say this committee has important work to do later. Let's put in the automatic follow-up mechanism because we know what's going to happen.
We know that in a week or two weeks, based on what the government has said, they will not provide these documents even if they are ordered to, if there's no enforcement mechanism, and then we will have to bring it back to this committee at that point, and at that point we will see the same kinds of efforts from the government side to tie this up.
This is why this amendment should not pass. It is quite evidently an attempt by the Liberals to undermine this whole effort. I predict that if this amendment passes, they will not provide the documents, and then we will be back here again and Conservatives will be saying I told you so. Then we will have to repeat this whole discussion at that point. Hey, maybe I will be surprised. Maybe they will finally come through on something, but I suspect, and it's clear from what they are saying, that they do not intend to provide these documents unless we take the steps required to force them. Frankly, if they wanted to provide the documents, they would have already. We will continue to insist on the provision of the documents.
The Conservative position is clear. I think the Liberal position is clear. Now, if the other parties are serious about accessing these documents, we're open to identifying a reasoned compromise, but we need a mechanism to ensure that these documents will actually be provided.
I will leave it there.
Thanks.