Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
Mr. Bilodeau, I'm going to tell you the feeling I have. In light of what the witnesses have told us, the sense I've gotten since the beginning is that they don't understand the bill. Their comments put all kinds of doubts in our minds. For your part, you're saying that isn't the purpose of the bill. When you say it enough times, it's almost like you're telling us we should trust you because that isn't really the bill's intent.
As I see it, things would be clearer if you spelled out in the bill everything people don't understand. That would make us feel better, especially about the whole issue of back doors. Basically, apart from the police services, hardly any of the organizations and companies we met with agree with some of the provisions in Bill C‑22. To my mind, one of your responsibilities is making sure that the committee has a clear understanding of the bill, so you need to stop saying that isn't the purpose of the bill and, instead, lay out exactly what the intent is right in the bill.
After hearing everyone's concerns, I'm very hopeful—I know the government would like to achieve somewhat of a consensus on Bill C‑22—that you'll have a chance to clarify things.
I wanted to say that at the start, because, as a parliamentarian, I don't have the expertise of a computer scientist. There are all kinds of things I don't know, so I'm relying on the experts, and all the experts are telling us that if Bill C‑22 is passed as is, privacy will be no more. I can name plenty of people who said so.
Do you think it's important to include clear definitions or perhaps even who the bill does not apply to? That's another suggestion we got, from Desjardins and Interac, who wondered whether they would eventually find out if the bill applied to them, since the definition will be established by regulation.
Are you working on anything or having any discussions that will provide us with the details we need regarding the government's intention? Those details are necessary to inform our consideration of Bill C‑22.