Mr. Chairman, not wishing to repeat what my colleagues have already said, I would simply add that this question of privilege should have been raised with the Speaker of the House of Commons. If the member wishes to pursue the matter, this would be the most appropriate way to do so. It is my belief that our time is precious and that we should move on to committee business.
In any event, the information we presently have can be obtained under the Access to Information Act. Every time that we made requests possibly involving translation or exorbitant costs and that we were not certain that the information provided by the department was sufficient and correct, we obtained, via an access to information request, exactly the same documents as those obtained by the committee, and, on top of that, within a very reasonable timeframe, often within less than 10 days or two weeks. Consequently, I am not surprised that people have within their possession the same information we have.
Furthermore, one need only consult the Canada Gazette to find information regarding Ms. Ouimet's salary scale. One could also, through an access to information request, easily obtain all of the information we have here. Moreover, a good portion of this information was already available on the Internet, namely that pertaining to the RCMP. I have here access to information requests relating to the agendas and comings and goings of Ms. Ouimet, etc. Approximately half of the document deals with elements that are rather administrative in nature and that have nothing to do with the auditor general's investigation.
However, if the member wishes to pursue his issue with regard to the question of privilege, I believe he should do so in the House. The information is public. We heard the privacy commissioner. She commented on the document. In her opinion, the risk of us receiving private information was minimal. She at that time had no doubts as to the type of information that would be supplied and was convinced that Privy Council and Treasury Board would ensure that no information on the whistleblowers would be communicated. I therefore believe that all of the information we have is public.
An issue that was brought up was that of misuse of public funds, and other such disclosures. In response to our access to information requests, we obtained among other things the following information: that the successive controllers had never communicated with the commissioner's office to inform it of changes made to its administrative practices. All of this is in the public domain and can be easily obtained through an access to information request.
As my colleagues are aware, I research all of my files quite thoroughly. I therefore am of the belief that I am well prepared to question anyone who might appear before us with regard to access requests pertaining to public information, information disclosed on the department's Web sites and on blogs dating back to 2008 or 2009, for example, or even on information dating to 2010. To sum up, the question of privilege should not be discussed in a committee setting, but rather in the House of Commons. I believe that that is what my colleagues from the Liberal Party are trying to get at.