Mr. Speaker, I would like to put a few words on the record with respect to the report, but I would also make reference to a report brought forward today.
Canadians have a growing expectation of their parliamentarians. They want to see more accountability. They want to see more transparency. The report we are making reference to today allows more clarity on the issue.
We have had the first report, since being prorogued, of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. It was about the Board of Internal Economy. There is a Liberal Party supplement expressing our concerns. One of the critical concerns was about in-camera meetings. This is something we have seen in a wide variety of committees, and it has a profound impact on the Auditor General, or anyone else, in terms of access to what actually transpires at a particular meeting. Arguing for transparency and accountability, that is the reason, almost without exception, the Board of Internal Economy should not have in-camera meetings.
Another aspect we talked about was an independent commissioner who would deal with issues such as appeals and pay and benefits.
With regard to the report we are dealing with today, I understand that it deals strictly with access to information requests. It came up as a result of a request when the House was in recess. We found that there was a need for PROC to deal with the important issue of how and what we can see released.
There were four points, which the government representative referred to. I, too, would like to make some reference to them.
The first deals with public and accessible documents. Whenever there is a standing committee, of whatever nature, a considerable amount of information is made available and it is for the public record. One would anticipate that if there were a request for that information, it would be made available.
The second point is the issue of in-camera documents. Because there are so many restrictions in terms of receiving information discussed at in-camera meetings, we have to do what we can to minimize the number of in-camera meetings that take place.
What we have found is that the current government, more than any other prior government, has a tendency to go in camera as often as it possibly can. When that occurs, as we will see through the recommendations in this report, it is almost impossible to get any form of information, even through access to information requests.
The third point is that when we have meetings that are not in camera, and a presentation is made, sometimes those presentations have an addendum that is circulated to members of Parliament. Because of the secretive nature of the attachment, there may be a valid argument that in certain situations, the sensitivity of that particular file warrants the entire document not being released, even though it was for public standing committee meeting.
Fourth, there are occasions when we see documents prepared by government institutions for parliamentary proceedings, but they are never presented or submitted. I have experienced that first-hand, when for any number of reasons, the presentation was never made, and the information being made available for the committee members was quite substantial. I have had the opportunity to use some of that information. It was meant to be public, and we believe that there is merit in it being released.
We recognize the importance of parliamentary privilege. At the end of the day, we believe that the report is positive. There is not a dissenting report from the Liberal Party, although we share some of the concerns expressed by the New Democratic Party.
I would conclude my remarks by emphasizing how critically important it is that we recognize that we need to see more transparency and more accountability in government. One of the ways we can ensure that is to minimize the number of in camera meetings that take place. In camera meetings are necessary in certain situations, but the government has been far too dependent on them. We call upon the government to recognize that the more we can avoid in camera meetings, the better off we will be as an institution, and ultimately, Canadians will win.
I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to add my few words on behalf of the Liberal Party.