Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can also repeat what I said in French, if you wish.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No. I think you're—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  —wondering why I'm more than a little bit hesitant on that process. It is around information security. We're talking about highly classified documents. We have obligations in terms of protecting the information, and I think we need to be as robust in the protection of that information as possible, which is one of the reasons that—much like my colleague—I believe, fundamentally, that there are institutions in Canada that can independently look at this information in as transparent a way as possible, that have both the physical means to do so in terms of safe, secure rooms as well as the technology to do so.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it would be important to have an independent inquiry managed by a judge or former judge so that no party could question its reliability. That would be an essential first step. Ultimately, however, the objective is not the inquiry, but to take its findings seriously and to implement the measures proposed to counter foreign interference.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm broadly concerned about the security of information. I'm a former departmental security officer. I should say this up front. I spent many years as a political staffer back in the 1980s and early 1990s too, so I know a lot about how this place works. My concern would be around information security and information integrity.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think they should take the special rapporteur and the government up on those offers. It's important, if we're going to have a conversation about foreign interference, that all individuals or leaders who have the opportunity and who will influence the way Canadians think about it be as informed as possible.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again, I am very happy any time Canadians speak about national security matters, because we almost never do. I think the consequences of that, in my humble submission, are that we have not had a productive conversation about the threat that Canada is facing. Again, would his bringing attention to various issues help?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'd like to answer your question very quickly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  To the question of whether the clerk of the committee or the clerk of the House of Commons can redact the documents so that parliamentarians can consult them, the answer is no. The reason is that you need a person with the appropriate security clearance, skills, and authorization to—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't know if they do. This isn't a matter for Parliament, but for the executive branch, and I think we really need to look at who could redact these documents in order to ensure transparency. I agree with my colleague. That's why I'm also in favour of a public inquiry, because the people responsible for conducting it will be able to see the documents in their entirety.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was just going to add what I think is an important conversation to have: Exactly what are the thresholds for that reporting? As my colleague Mr. Stanton pointed out, you really do need an assessed understanding of what the threat is, as opposed to any kind of information that may be in the domain that comes to the attention of the intelligence services and names or addresses a specific member of Parliament.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Government identifies its intelligence priorities. That is a cabinet process that tells the intelligence communities to go forth and get us intelligence. There is a level of opacity in that process that, I think, is challenging. There is scope for making how government decides what our intelligence priorities are more transparent to Parliament and more transparent to Canadians.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  To me, it's not a question of the classification of the information handled by the special rapporteur or as part of an independent investigation. As my colleague pointed out in his testimony, there have already been cases of public inquiries involving the handling of highly classified documents.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As a consumer, it takes years to get an understanding of the information in front of you, and you need regular engagement with a range of actors to be effective in turning the information that you see into actual, effective decision-making. This is why I say we need to change the intelligence culture in this country.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I find that very worrisome. As you mentioned, and as the special rapporteur mentioned as well, democracy is a matter of trust. The Prime Minister picked up on that same idea. Given the facts before us, I think there's a broad consensus on the need for an independent inquiry. I think that's very important because it's a way of establishing that trust.