Government Operations committee  I would say that the internal process will inevitably do most of the work. The issue of trust is crucial, you are absolutely right. In order for the public and the bidding companies to trust the process, I think the public must have the assurance that there is no political inte

Government Operations committee  I agree. I would just add that it is essential that the courts retain their ability to rule on cases that are not covered by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, because there are some cases like that. The tribunal does not have universal jurisdiction. There may be cases wh

Government Operations committee  I don't know much about the example you mention, but it seems to me as you describe it that this is a case where there should be a rule—I don't know; there must be one—allowing for purchases in case of emergency, which is a totally distinct concern from national security. If nati

Government Operations committee  Like public utilities, electricity, transit, or subway systems. There must be some security interest in there.

Government Operations committee  Perhaps I could say again—

Government Operations committee  I could say that there could be audits of the invocation of national security exceptions. I don't know to whom this mandate could be given, perhaps the Auditor General, and that would not delay the process for the award of contracts, so it would come after the fact. It would be a

Government Operations committee  If I may add to that, when courts or tribunals review decisions that are made by the executive and that have a policy component, they typically show deference, in the sense that they do exercise some form of control but they recognize that the executive has a margin of discretion

Government Operations committee  I said there were some controversies. You have a good memory.

Government Operations committee  Those are the sorts of things. Could a committee of MPs do that? No doubt, but you see the kinds of concerns that this raises.

Government Operations committee  Yes, confidence is important, and it stems from the fact that independent controls are in place.

Government Operations committee  You are talking about sole-sourcing.

Government Operations committee  In my opinion, no.

Government Operations committee  From the perspective of the public or of companies, a department is not a third party to another department. I don't agree with that. I think we need an independent body. That’s usually the courts. It is possible for other types of truly independent bodies to play that role. I th

Government Operations committee  I would have to study the process more. Generally speaking, I think it is good that public service processes are under the control of Parliament. That includes a committee like yours. Clearly, this possibility raises concerns about confidentiality. We keep coming back to that.

Government Operations committee  I think the concern is similar to the one we have about the control and oversight of intelligence agencies. Special measures are taken to ensure that some control is applied. As you are probably aware, discussions have taken place on this issue. Special measures will have to be t