I move the amendment, Chair.
Let me say that this is, if not the key issue, certainly one of the key issues for us. It's something we've been hearing from witnesses, of course, but it's also, interestingly enough, the same language as in a Liberal MP's bill from the previous Parliament, a bill tabled by our colleague Joyce Murray—Bill C-622—and of course Bill S-220, sponsored by former Senator Segal, whom we had the chance of hearing in Toronto. Wesley Wark, whom we heard during the study, called the amendment we're proposing “an ideal scheme”.
I think it's challenging, because on the one hand we have the discretionary powers of blocking investigations and on the other hand we have this situation concerning what information is already available to begin with to the committee. We heard SIRC, for example, say that they can collaborate with the committee and that it's okay and the committee doesn't need the same powers, but the fact of the matter is that a great many bodies covered by this bill don't actually have oversight—we can think of CBSA, among others—and this committee will be the only review body available.
We can look at this narrow view of saying that SIRC already has access to this information and therefore the committee doesn't need it, but it's much broader than that, and that is certainly something we've heard from witnesses.
While I know that the process on this bill has been perhaps more difficult than we had hoped it would be, it's hard for me to envision a scenario whereby we can gain public trust as well as the trust of the parliamentarians on the committee. As well, as Mr. Rankin pointed out earlier today, while we may trust the current government, we don't know what the future holds for us. We need to get this right, and now, and I think that this full access to information is the way to do it.