Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will try to be brief, as I know we have only 16 minutes left in this meeting.
First of all, it is within the mandate of our committee to get to the bottom of the Auditor General's reports. As the Auditor General states in her letter sent on February 8, 2023, under subsection 13(3) of the Auditor General Act, including the requirements related to documents, she cannot publicly provide us with information on said contracts with pharmaceutical companies. That is why it is up to the committee to question the nature of the contracts and purchase options between the government and the companies. The reasons were mentioned to all members of the committee.
These are commercial agreements. There are no more lives at risk in this case. Also, we know full well that the statute of limitations has expired on these commercial agreements. So, competitive reasons can no longer be cited. The pandemic—we wish it and we know it—is behind us. Those doses will not be used anyway. A certain amount of time has passed and it is only right that now, having turned the page and learned from the pandemic, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts have access to those contracts.
I will just conclude by saying that this process was undertaken in good faith. That's why we're going to look at these documents in camera, under certain constraints that have been described in the motion. We will also do so in an in camera meeting with representatives of Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Once again, we have acted in good faith, and we wholeheartedly hope that the government and its representatives will act in good faith, as well.
Thank you.