Information & Ethics committee  You could have more transparency…I don't know who that question was for.

Information & Ethics committee  You could have more transparency by—

Information & Ethics committee  Ah, okay.

Information & Ethics committee  I am no expert in legislative drafting for the federal government, but I feel that the principle remains the same, that there should be a oversight mechanism. Earlier, we talked about improving the Privacy Act, but we already have an act and we are not complying with it. We also have an institution in place and it was ignored.

Information & Ethics committee  I was saying that trust is one of the pillars of a real democracy. A social contract connects the public with the political leaders, the elected representatives. That trust is fundamental. The more it's undermined, the more people feel entitled to do what they want. The behaviour we have seen in recent weeks in Canada is the reflection of a problem of trust.

Information & Ethics committee  …and determining how the government is behaving.

Information & Ethics committee  Let me emphasize once again that we have the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Basically, the goal of that institution is to help political leaders and the public to see things clearly and, potentially, to find compromises or to assess risks for the public. It's impossible for everyone in Canada's population to provide an opinion.

Information & Ethics committee  Once again, you have to do that from the start, not retroactively.

Information & Ethics committee  Who was your question for, Mr. Villemure?

Information & Ethics committee  Okay.

Information & Ethics committee  The act provides a mechanism in the person of the Privacy Commissioner. There are almost 40 million of us and we cannot check everything. So we have a commissioner who, on our behalf, verifies that the processes are adequate. When the Privacy Commissioner is kept at a distance, the process is kept at a distance.

Information & Ethics committee  From the outset, the minister asked to be trusted. For political leaders to be trusted, they must behave in a trustworthy manner. When a government ignores the main body that Parliament has created to protect the privacy of Canadians, when the Privacy Commissioner is not involved and is kept at a distance, how can we completely trust this government or one of its ministers?

Information & Ethics committee  No. If it had acted transparently, we wouldn't be here today.

Information & Ethics committee  Oh, my time is up all ready! So I will wait for the questions, Mr. Chair, but I feel that I have said what had to be said.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, let me introduce myself. I was the speaker of the National Assembly of Quebec for six and a half years and a parliamentarian for 25 years. I often lecture about ethics. I have written numerous texts and I have worked with institutes of ethics, particularly the one at the Université Laval.