Thank you, Mr. MacGregor.
I would begin by saying a couple of things. I have had, in the past, over a number of years, a top secret code word clearance. I appreciate the obligations that go with that. I also appreciate the benefit of it in terms of access to kinds of information and assessments that you would not otherwise have. I can underline, just on the basis of my own experience of holding a top secret clearance, how valuable it can be. I would underline the value of it in two ways.
One is that it is, in my view, important for any leader of a party in the House of Commons to have a top secret clearance in order to better appreciate the range of national security threats that Canada faces. That range is very broad these days, and it goes far beyond foreign interference. I do want to make that point. There's a broader purpose to having access and briefings from national security officials to understand the threat environment. This may be an unfamiliar arena for political party leaders before they come into their positions of leadership, and there may be a steep learning curve. A top secret clearance is the way to climb that learning curve.
The second thing—and I think you've heard from people better able to speak to this than I am—is that the general understanding is that if you have a top secret clearance, you have the ability to have a clearer picture of the potential impacts of things like foreign interference or even related activities, like espionage targeting some members of your caucus. You're able to manage those problems more effectively than if you didn't have that awareness, whether it's appointments to committees, appointments to shadow cabinet positions, nomination contests and accrediting them and so on.
There is a range of activities that you can undertake, but I would just step back and say that, from my perspective, the most important reason for having a top secret clearance is that ability to have a wider understanding of the national security threat environment.