Thank you.
Just very briefly, I think anyone who studies national security intelligence issues in Canada will share Mr. Ruff's view that there is a problem with what the former CSIS director David Vigneault often referred to as a lack of national security literacy. It is a problem. I don't think that the solution to it comes through delivering security clearances to all members of Parliament. I would note that Mr. Ruff's bill does not limit the process of applying for security clearances to members of designated committees. That came up in the discussion. Even if it did, I would continue to worry about the potential undermining of that fundamental and important role that NSICOP plays.
The think tank that I have been associated with since 2020, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, issued a major report in 2021 called “Reimagining a Canadian National Security Strategy”, and that was designed, in part, to try to make a contribution to a better public understanding.
Again, I would come back to the fact that members of Parliament in particular cannot consider themselves as passive consumers waiting for intelligence briefings to come their way. There are many ways in which they can inform themselves through information in the public domain about threats to national security and intelligence.