No, I have nothing on 5. My point is that it's very hard to deal with this when we suddenly arbitrarily shift from what we were discussing to some other thing here.
Let me go to number 6. It deals with the issue of cabinet confidences and what they are, and gives some explanation. I didn't hear Mr. Brison express any concern that the information here was incorrect, so I assume he doesn't have any problem with that.
This does stress that “it is essential that ministers be able to speak freely with the assurance that their remarks will be protected.” That is, they can speak in cabinet privately. As well, “It is specifically the private nature of their proceedings that is protected by the privilege associated with Cabinet confidences.”
This is the key part in paragraph 6 that is highly relevant: “The fact that ministers take the Privy Council oath, which obliges them to keep secret every matter discussed in their meetings, illustrates the importance of this principle.”
Lest we assume that it is the obligation of ministers to wantonly reveal everything or to respond to every request for information provided, they are actually under a legal obligation. They've taken an oath to speak of nothing unless it is precisely requested from them. I don't think anybody doubts the idea that Parliament has the right to issue demands for a wide range of documents and to demand that, when a minister is brought here, they provide oral responses to questions that are asked, but in the absence of such a specific request, they are bound by an oath to keep these things secret.
Paragraph 6 specifies that “The privilege associated with the confidentiality of Cabinet proceedings is established in three...separate federal statutes: section 69 of the Access to Information Act, section 70 of the Privacy Act and section 39 of the Canada Evidence Act.” I think this is highly relevant to the discussion, because it explains what laws the ministers were attempting to conform to.
So actually, Mr. Brison, this is highly relevant and highly germane to the subject matter at hand.