Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to the committee, Chairman McGuinty, Senator Lankin and the secretariat officials. Thanks for being here.
When I look back over my years so far in this responsibility, they pale in comparison to my experience on NSICOP. It was probably the best and most enjoyable time I've had, because it felt like I was making a difference. Why? It was non-partisan, and it was legitimately non-partisan. I can say that unequivocally. Kudos to you guys for setting that up. It was well done, and I enjoyed my time there.
There's so much I'd like to say and ask, but I'll try to focus my comments.
I appreciate your comments on the same battle we had back then on the broad interpretations of cabinet confidences and the realization that people on that committee, not only those on the secretariat but also the members of the committee, Senators and MPs, have the same or higher security clearance than most cabinet ministers do. That's important to remember—and we're bound by legislation. There is frustration, and I think this committee needs to have full access to cabinet confidences, because that broad an interpretation doesn't allow full transparency. I appreciate that.
The other thing I really appreciated about NSICOP is the fact that its chair has pushed for broader transparency on the redaction process. I think that is key for public confidence in what we do and what we do as whole of government. I want to applaud those efforts. We're not there yet, but we're headed in the right direction, so thank you for that.
I want to get to a question on cyber-defence and cybersecurity, but we talked a couple of years ago—