I was a lawyer and an independent judge in the past. Now my work is quasi‑judicial, and the Intelligence Commissioner Act specifically states that. As such, I consider myself independent.
I'll explain what I did, Mr. Villemure.
The Intelligence Commissioner Act provides that I can receive briefings. I can't be familiar with all the technology that applies in this world. However, I don't want to fall in line with what others may well tell me to do.
As soon as I took office, in October 2022, I met with Mr. Vigneault, and I told him that, if he wanted to give me briefings, he had to choose the topics and that, if one day I had a decision to make and didn't have the information I needed to make an informed decision, it would be a shame, but I would find it unreasonable. So I put it on the shoulders of CSIS.
I consider myself very independent. The act gives me incredible power. I can tell CSIS to stop doing something, because we don't come to the same conclusions. I can say the same thing to the Communications Security Establishment Canada, the CSE. In that capacity, I'm aware of the importance of decisions. However, if I realize that the decisions I have to make may have consequences on your privacy, or on mine, I won't hesitate. I haven't hesitated to do so, either, so far.