Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you once again for your ruling, which included a number of elements that enabled the political parties to reach this agreement. I would also like to emphasize that, overall, the discussions were carried out candidly and in good faith. I believe that this process should serve as a model for the future.
This agreement respects your ruling because parliamentarians will have access to the documents in unredacted form, and will be able to provide the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan with the information it needs to carry out its inquiry into allegations of torture of Afghan detainees transferred by Canada to Afghan authorities.
This agreement also includes a mechanism to protect national security. I believe that this is a victory for democracy. I hope that the government has learned one thing from this exercise: Parliament takes precedence over the executive branch and must ensure that the government is accountable to parliamentarians. I hope that this agreement will lead to a much-needed restoration of the balance between the legislative and executive branches.