Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative. While some Canadians are counting down the days to Hanukkah and others are counting down the days to Christmas, we in the Senate are counting down the days to the arrival of Bill C-4.

One of the things that Bill C-4 does is exempt federal political parties from the privacy provisions, specifically, of British Columbia law. One of the things the B.C. law did was provide citizens with a right of access, a right to know what information an organization has collected on them. Bill C-4 eliminates any idea of a right of access. Can you tell us why the government chose that strategy?

Thank you very much. As a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, I look forward to being able to discuss this part of Bill C-4 in our committee.

I can’t help but notice, though, that this is a pattern with this government, which has, so far, introduced Bill C-2, Bill C-8, Bill C-12 as well as Bill C-4, each of which has been criticized for undermining Canadians’ rights to privacy. At a time when our privacy rights are already under assault from so many private sector actors, will the government step up and protect the privacy rights of all Canadians?