Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bédard, for being here with us today.
I'm going to go back to some of the lines of questioning that Mr. Erskine-Smith was following. I'm new to this committee and trying to grasp the bounds of these powers.
In your letter, you said the power to send for documents is “absolute and unfettered.” In my experience at the House of Commons, when a committee asks for documents, they often come redacted. Sometimes I think we call for you or other law clerks to come and explain why they're redacted.
When it's “unfettered”, does that mean we could ask for all the documents from cabinet, for instance? What about state secrets? It seems very broad.
What are the bounds? If there are no bounds, what are the procedures in place to deal with these documents when they're deposited with the House to make sure that sensitive information is treated properly?