Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be brief. I will leave some time to Mr. Bains.
I would first of all like to clarify one point. When the Privy Council Office sent us the letter, it clearly stated that it had removed from the information those sensitive and personal elements that could have been a problem.
Secondly, if we want to talk about breach of privilege and attempting to place the blame on others, here is the first question one must ask: how is it that a lawyer was made aware of the fact that the Privy Council Office had provided documents to us? We were made aware of this and we were sent an e-mail less than 24 hours after having ourselves received our documents. This is perhaps the question that should be asked: how is it that someone was aware of the fact that the Privy Council Office had supplied specific documents to us? Therefore, if we are to discuss a breach of privilege, it will be serious business.
Thirdly, I would like to read a paragraph. As I was saying earlier, the sensitive and personal elements in the documents we received were removed by the Privy Council Office. I will read a section of the agreement in French, and my colleague will read the English version.
Section 6 of the agreement reads as follows:The particulars of the Departure Agreement shall be held strictly confidential and shall not be disclosed by any person, unless required by federal or provincial law or regulation, or because of the Minister's responsibility and accountability to Parliament.
Mr. Bains.