Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank my colleague the member for Mount Royal for being with us. I note, however, that he is a proud representative of pharmaceutical companies rather than his fellow citizens of Mount Royal. This disappoints me deeply, knowing that I grew up right next door.
I find this amendment inappropriate. In light of parliamentary privilege, we have no business signing non-disclosure agreements with pharmaceutical companies. This is completely out of order. This exercise is purely an exercise in transparency. There are no lives at stake, as there are in cases of espionage or in cases of national defence. These are commercial contracts with pharmaceutical companies.
It is in the interest of the Canadians and Quebeckers we represent to know what was in these agreements, as has been done elsewhere. It has been done in the United States, in Europe and in Colombia. Yes, there are developing countries that are perhaps more intelligent than some government members. I'll even tell you what has been done in Colombia.
Based on national and international laws, the country's administrative court rejected the government's argument that contracts with pharmaceutical companies could not be released because these agreements were confidential. That's the same argument we're hearing here. In a landmark decision, the court found that the access to information right trumped confidentiality agreements. I repeat: the right of access to information has precedence over confidentiality agreements.
I would also like to remind the committee that all confidentiality provisions have been respected. Everything in the motion was drafted according to the rules of adoption that have been established in other committees. First, it was established that parliamentarians could consult the documents in the presence of the clerk and only in camera; second, that the meeting with the people from Public Services and Procurement Canada would also be in camera. Constraints have already been included in the motion, in good faith, so that the motion can be adopted as is.
I will also read the opinion of the law clerk and acting parliamentary counsel, Mr. Bédard. He is an employee of the House of Commons. So he is neutral. Here it is:
The motion proposes measures to protect the confidentiality of required documents, including that the documents be available for viewing only in the clerk's office, for one day only. While such measures are not mandatory, they are a legitimate exercise of the committee's power [...]