Public Safety committee  The definition of the department under the statute excludes a review body. There is something—

Public Safety committee  —with respect to departments and right to access. There is something with respect to review bodies and the ability to share information between review bodies and the committee.

Public Safety committee  Right now, it states that the committee is to meet at the call of the chair. That really just means that the chair will call the meetings of the committee.

Public Safety committee  I thought there was provision later on that indicates they may determine the procedure to be followed in the exercise of their powers, so they do have the ability to set the quorum once they meet.

Public Safety committee  That's clause 20.

Public Safety committee  It's true that there is no individual subpoena power; it is an entitlement to information, and that information flows from the minister. Much as in the case of parliamentary committees in general, the minister will determine who he or she feels is most acceptable to appear before

Public Safety committee  What you're suggesting is an individual complaint process and not an overview review of activities.

Public Safety committee  I don't understand.

Public Safety committee  I don't agree that I said it was ignoring the independence of the committee at all—

Public Safety committee  —but rather, in fact, the mandate is quite large for them to deal with a review of both the framework and any activity that relates to their mandate, national security and intelligence.

Public Safety committee  There are a number of models you could choose, and you could become very restrictive or you could go very wide. What we're saying is that in the drafting of the bill we have tried to apply the Westminster model as much as we can to provide for a large amount of information being

Public Safety committee  What would happen with respect to giving them subpoena powers is that it would result in having a process that has become more judicialized, if I may say so. The subpoena would have to be enforced somehow. That would normally take the form of a court order. That is against the wh

Public Safety committee  Okay. I'll just give you the legal underpinnings. Usually a subpoena power and a power to compel documents is in relation to a review body that either has adjudicative powers or has an individually initiated complaint review power. That is the case with respect to SIRC, to the c

Public Safety committee  I want to add that it's not unprecedented for Parliament to determine some circumscription of their parliamentary privilege. The Parliamentary Protective Service legislation that was recently passed was another example of something whereby, from a parliamentary privilege standpoi

Public Safety committee  What it does is make explicit that statements made that would normally be subject to parliamentary privilege could be used in evidence against them if there was, for example, a prosecution under the Security of Information Act for a person who was otherwise permanently bound to s