Information & Ethics committee  There would have been a fulsome decision if we had to lay charges or not lay charges. There would have been a fulsome briefing with the commissioner as to the reasons why.

Information & Ethics committee  The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould was informed in January 2023. I am not quite sure if we went out publicly for that. Following the discussion we had with Ms. Wilson-Raybould, we did inform Mr. Scheer, who had written a complaint to the commissioner, and we responded to that letter.

Information & Ethics committee  I have said it earlier, Mr. Chair. It's an internal matter, which has been addressed. It's hard to think that this would be suspended when no one in government was briefed on this file until the.... I didn't even brief the Prime Minister or the minister, even after we informed Ms.

Information & Ethics committee  It was a combination of a change in reporting structure.... The reports were not getting up and proper follow-ups were not made, so it was done inadvertently.

Information & Ethics committee  Every investigation starts with a complaint filed by a complainant. We then follow established procedure. We collect the information and evidence required to determine whether we can lay charges or obtain documents required by the court to get a warrant.

Information & Ethics committee  At first glance, I would say no. Keep in mind that there are two distinct mandates in this case. You said it yourself, Mr. Villemure, there is the ethical aspect and the criminal aspect, and the thresholds are different.

Information & Ethics committee  According to the most recent national surveys I read, the public’s trust in the organization is better than it was in the past. Like anything else, when conducting an investigation, especially one of this nature, we must stay within certain parameters. If there is a desire to broaden them for the sake of transparency, it is not up to me to debate it.

Information & Ethics committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, just to add, the commissioner has a duty to suspend his examination if he comes across any criminal wrongdoing, which was not the case in this case.

Information & Ethics committee  According to my understanding of the Conflict of Interest Act, and it's in the investigative report that's been provided, there's a duty there that, if there's any criminal wrongdoing, he's to suspend his activities, and it normally then gets reported to us for follow-up.

Information & Ethics committee  From my understanding, that is correct, yes.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, and that's what I said. It's internal in the sense that there were several key players who moved along. The report was completed in the spring of 2021, and that's on us. We put measures in place to make sure that there's a monthly reporting on sensitive files of this nature.

Information & Ethics committee  I would say you're correct, in the sense that most of the time we need someone to lay a complaint that we can investigate. Just a sidebar saying “Investigate this” doesn't cut it.

Information & Ethics committee  It limited our capability to pursue a full investigation.

Information & Ethics committee  Again, not knowing what additional information is out there, it's hard for me to speculate that there's a Pandora's box out there full of information. It's hard for us without speculating.

Information & Ethics committee  I wouldn't use the term “block”, Mr. Chair. When the RCMP runs an investigation, it operates within the parameters and the regulations that it's allowed to. We see in a national security investigation, as well, that there's some information that we don't have access to and that we can't use in an investigation.