Mr. Speaker, under clause 55, which is consequential amendment to the Access to Information Act that was referred to by one of the speakers as the “cover-up clause”, the clause basically states that information gathered during an investigation may be withheld under the Access to Information Act for five years if it is expected to lead to the identification of a public servant who made a disclosure under the act.
The Conservative member who spoke on behalf of his party suggested that this clause should be eliminated. I thought that as part of the witnesses and the concerns about the anonymity of people, it would be very important that this clause stay. In fact, the Auditor General, under her investigatory powers, has a 20-year protection under the release of information under investigation.
I wonder if the member would share her views on whether this clause should stay.