Further to that, I previously sat on the national defence committee. I have in my hand a letter, signed by a former chair of the national defence committee, to a former Minister of National Defence, dated December 7, 2017, in which we explained to the minister that, during the studies on “Canada's Involvement in NATO” and “Canada and the Ukraine Crisis”, information that the committee needed to do that study was not available to them, and that:
As a result of not having access to certain critical information through briefings or documents, the Committee feels they have been unable to complete their work related to this study in an effective and comprehensive manner.
The first issue appears to stem from the requirement of officials to confirm security credentials of Members of Parliament before providing information to the Committee.
We're doing incredible work here, work that is affecting global situations. We, unfortunately, can't complete the work because we do not have access to the information.
I honestly believe that we are all honourable members, and that, given the responsibility of our own national security, I do not think members of Parliament would be using it for nefarious reasons and that they'd be standing up in the House of Commons and using parliamentary privilege to spew information, as they understand very well what that would mean. I think this is a learning opportunity to have those hard conversations because the face of intelligence and our national security have changed. Do you agree that it is time that we actually start having these conversations and move the dial forward to make sure that members of Parliament are able to do the work that they are required to do?