On that very note then, Professor Franks, one of the things we have noticed in the last five years, and I'm trying to be as objective as I can, is that it is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for this government to tolerate voices that speak truth to power.
We have seen a whole series of very senior officials, such as the head of Statistics Canada, resign. Let the Conservative members deny it. We've heard of the former head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission being informed at 11:45 at night, at home, through a phone call from the minister, that she was fired. We've seen about eight to ten people in very senior positions who ought to be, in a mature democracy, able to speak freely, to do their jobs, but there has been a deliberate cooling-off censoring exercise.
We have also seen in committees, for example, manuals prepared by the government to help Conservative chairs obstruct the testimony of witnesses whose testimony was not favourably disposed to the government's position.
We are seeing all kinds of measures brought to bear to circumscribe and control information, as you say, because information is power. Don't you believe, deep down, that Canadians should know that we need these independent voices? We need people to be able to speak truth to power for a democracy to remain healthy and for government to improve.