Chair, I want to thank the witnesses for those answers. I'm not satisfied, but they provide more clarity about where some of the problems are coming from.
I have a motion I want to move. It is related to the international student study this committee is going to be undertaking. My motion has been on notice since September 13.
It says:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a), the committee request the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship to provide an unredacted version of the “Memorandum to the Minister: Updating the policy regarding the financial requirement for study permit eligibility for international students”, submitted in response to the February 28, 2024, Motion for Production of Papers; and that any redactions applied under section 14 and 21 of the Access to Information Act be removed, while respecting exclusions under section 19, 23, 69, as the current redactions hinder the committee's ability to discharge its duty of proper oversight and scrutiny.
So the public understands, committees of Parliament have an unlimited right of access to documentation.
I've gone through the briefing note. These are the three areas I am okay with being redacted. Section 19 is on personal information. I counted zero in the briefing note. Section 23 is on solicitor-client privilege, which means the lawyers of the Government of Canada. There are three of them. I'm okay with that not being shown to us. There's one reference to section 69 in the briefing note. The other ones, though, are much more substantive. Section 14 is on federal-provincial affairs. There are 11 redactions. For section 21, on the operations of government, there are 40 redactions.
We have a right—especially on the opposition side—to know what is going on. This is an expansive briefing note. We're going to be doing an international student study, and we have a right to know what is behind this, unless they have something to hide. I hope they don't. We'll see how the vote comes out.
That's why I moved this motion. I want the document unredacted, Chair.