I'm talking about high-ranking officials in the departments concerned, which is implicitly understood. I'm talking about those who are closely involved in the file.
I'm not looking for the emails of all high-ranking officials across government who have nothing to do with managing the coronavirus. I have no desire to read that. This isn't a stalling tactic. We have to deal with this seriously.
I have no aspirations to be Inspector Clouseau, but what I do want is to have all relevant information that will set the stage for us when we hear from witnesses, so we can ask thoughtful questions on behalf of the public. That is my goal, so this is what I'm proposing.
I got the feeling earlier that Mr. Fisher had acquiesced in the face of Mr. Davies' reasoning. He seemed to be in agreement. He gave it the thumbs up. I thought everyone was onside. They didn't present any counter-arguments.
I realize we need to hear from the witnesses, but at the same time, I think there's a way to come to an arrangement and reach a consensus. Perhaps the clerk could help you read the amendment, if necessary.
It isn't all that complicated. I move that we request the emails of senior officials, that we remove the reference to text messages and summaries of phone calls and that we keep the rest. We could be even more specific by adding “emails from senior officials involved in the coronavirus crisis”, but I think that's understood in the request. We are talking about senior officials involved in the various departments.