Yes, Mr. Chairman.
I will be brief with regard to the explanation of the amendment.
The government has expressed its concern that the undue hardship defence is being improperly applied; that is, judges were waiving the surcharge for no reason—something that was critiqued in numerous reports—and I certainly understand the government's concern in that regard.
I might add that all my amendments intend to, in effect, dovetail with the intention of the government and seek only to bring about a better achievement of the government's own intention. This amendment proposes to address the problem, correctly identified by the government, by allowing the undue hardship requirement but requiring judges to record their reasons in writing. This would improve the enforcement rate for the application of the surcharge, and it would address the concern of the improper granting of the waiver that has taken place.