Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to state that I appreciate the answer from the deputy minister. I could accept the fact that this may be a sensitive situation, but I would really encourage the Minister and the department to revisit this issue to see whether or not it is at all possible to rearrange the working relationship with the city.
I have one question. In the review that the department will undertake on this issue, I am still not clear as to what would have brought about this change, because access to information, not only in this jurisdiction, but it is not new in all parts of Canada. I am just curious to see what has brought about the change in the legal opinion to raise a red flag or to convey some sort of concern about confidentiality.
Mr. Bell had stated that this is not the trend that is being followed in other jurisdictions, yet they are subject to their own access to information acts. I would think there might be some room to manoeuvre here. I am not trying to challenge that legal opinion of the access to information commissioner, but this is not something that is only being done or is only being proposed in this jurisdiction.
I would urge the Minister and the department to review that legal opinion again and see if there is room to manoeuvre there. It appears to me that where the municipalities are all on their financial restraint where we cannot give them anymore money, the least we could do is not take away something they did not have to spend money on, where they will have to put their own money into it. I would really urge the Minister and the department to just revisit it with a view of putting it back where it was before. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.