That is simply a dizzying array of matters to address.
If I could first address the reputational point, I certainly did not bring myself before this committee as an international law expert. I specified that I was drawing upon our report in the UN Security Council's 1267 regime and the rule of law in Canada. This is the report. I'm happy to table it with the committee. I can give that to you. As I say, I made no representations along those lines.
The point about international law being founded in sovereignty, I suggest, is deeply problematic. If we're going to discuss this notion of what constitutes the rule of law, the leading case in Canada is Roncarelli v. Duplessis, which says, simply put, that the law cannot be arbitrary. The way we ensure that is by having due process. This is iterated throughout the international instruments and our own Constitution.
I can appreciate that we have a disagreement about this particular legal point. By the way, I won the Wilson Moot, which is about the equality provisions of the Canadian charter. I'll just put that on the record. If we're having this dispute...this matter has come up before Canadian courts previously and is going to come up in a very analogous case, as I say, very soon.
The point here is, relative to what we must do and how we must do it, what do you suggest? We have been iterating time and time again that we need to work at an international level with our international partners. We're under tremendous economic pressure. That has been stated.
It would have been much preferable to have had this work undertaken some time ago. The argument that the exception is going to last in Canada is certainly problematic if we consider the track record thus far of the security harmonization between the two countries.
So we're deeply concerned that Canadians are going to have to deal with this either through domestic courts or, now, through diplomatic channels, which would be preferable. I think that's a quick scoop of the various issues that were raised, which could possibly be addressed in this forum.