Madam Speaker, the motion we are debating is crucial. It is one more symptom of what we in the opposition no matter which party we represent are trying to do. There are times when the only way we can hold the government accountable is to request certain information. Those of us who have been here any length of time recognize that the government has used many vehicles to preempt our ability to obtain information. During my career here a few examples immediately come to mind.
In my role as the critic for aboriginal affairs in the 1993-97 parliament, there were certainly times when the Privacy Act was invoked. There were obvious abuses of obligations that had been incurred by bands in contractual arrangements with people. The original funding which allowed the bands to enter into these arrangements was Canadian taxpayers' money.
In a case in Atlantic Canada, the supreme court of that province made a judgment against the band. The band and the department of Indian affairs were stonewalling. The eventual resolution I had to resort to was to take all the documentation to the auditor general. The auditor general exerted influence through the bureaucracy and, I am assuming, through the minister. That was the only thing that cleared up this financial obligation.
Another example is when members on the fisheries committee collectively wanted observer reports from Atlantic operations to be available from fishing operations out off the Grand Banks and so on. After a monumental Herculean effort, we were finally given access. In fact, had it not been for the amount of media attention focused on that, the government still would have had the levers available to deny those observer reports.
Over the course of time I have also had to use the access to information provisions which Canadian citizens and we as members of parliament are allowed to use to extract information from the government. That has not always been a happy exercise either.
When I wanted to obtain information on what on earth Transport Canada was doing in terms of devolution of west coast docks and wharf facilities, that exercise from start to completion took close to two years. I met roadblock after roadblock and basically had to persevere. It should not have to be that way.
When it comes to this current motion for the production of papers, it is apparent that the member for New Brunswick Southwest has the correct motivations and has shown much persistence. He has tried to do everything through the rules.
It would be most inappropriate if this votable motion were not given serious consideration by all members of the House, not just on the opposition side but on the government side as well. In many ways this is a litmus test for government accountability and government transparency. There is no earthly reason that the request should be denied.
I would hope that members of the House, when called upon to vote on the motion, will find it is the right way to go. I would urge them to do that.