Good morning, minister and gentlemen. Thank you for being here to answer our questions.
Mr. Bird, earlier we talked about information that can be disclosed to other countries. I know there is some information that you can transmit to other countries; you talked about that earlier.
Could you tell me exactly which information and clarify how far you want to extend the exchange of information? That troubles me somewhat. It's also creating some concerns at the Barreau du Québec, which sums up that apprehension as follows, and I quote:
Our apprehension over the danger that the technique might be used for other purposes, that the information could potentially reveal other secrets, that we are gradually witnessing a vast free trade in highly personal information [...]
These are the concerns of the Barreau du Québec.
It's been said that we need treaties. However, we've just learned about the Maher Arar case, in which we saw that, in some cases, disclosed information no longer belongs to us once it has reached another country. We no longer have much control over the use of that information.
I'd like to hear your comments on the subject.