If he has concerns and was not able, as he said, to convince the committee of the validity of his arguments, then there is only one thing left to do. We in the Bloc Quebecois brought forward amendments at committee after having voted in favour of the principle of the bill at second reading. However, since the amendments that we moved and that were important to us were not adopted by the majority, neither in committee nor here at report stage, as we will see during the vote, I suggest that he vote against the bill, or abstain. This is generally not viewed as a good thing, but if he is worried about the Prime Minister's reaction, I would invite him to consider the alternative.
He also stated that this bill allows for the use of less intrusive means in terms of people's privacy. He is referring to electronic surveillance. It is fairly intrusive. We are talking about wiretapping citizens based merely on the suspicion of the Attorney General of Canada, and not a judge.
We would love to believe in the minister's objectivity, as attorney general, but she is nevertheless an elected member from the Liberal Party. She is therefore not immune to certain attempts to influence her. I do not mean to question her motives, but personally, I do not feel any reassurance regarding the interpretation that a future attorney general might have regarding people in my riding who would have the same concerns and worries, and there are some.
Members of the House received numerous e-mails and phone calls and met with people who are concerned for all kinds of reasons, sometimes unjustified, but how are they to know this when it is left to the potentially very broad interpretation of the attorney general and those who advise her? We still do not know to whom this refers. It is not specified in the bills.
If a citizen is not satisfied with the interpretation made for these famous certificates for the so-called protection of secrets, he can go before a judge, where he might win after numerous legal proceedings and considerable legal costs, because we all know how much it costs to hire a lawyer or notary. There is one sitting right behind me. It could end up costing quite a bit for a citizen who is wrongfully accused.
However, I must say that while lawyers cost a lot, my colleague sitting behind me is the cheapest you will find. I will not advertise any more for the member for Chambly. Given the importance of this bill, I think that there has been enough humour as it is.
The hon. member over there admits, and I find some reassurance in the fact that there are some over there who admit it, that this clause of the bill is an unfortunate limitation of rights. He also says that no one on that side is happy dealing with this bill and would have preferred to deal with the budget, and so on.
As far as Motion No. 6 is concerned, as the hon. member for Berthier—Montcalm said yesterday, the amendments proposed by colleagues on this side of the House have a certain merit. However, limiting secrecy to 15 years instead of permanently, as before, has, since yesterday, since we started looking at the bill at the report stage, placed us in a situation where we have to deal only with the lesser of two evils. We have the hon. member speaking of the least intrusive means of infringing on people's private lives, while the opposition is trying to find the least bad approach. The best ones have not necessarily been looked at.
Between the least bad and the worst, we are going to vote in favour of the least bad. There will be a period of 15 years during which we will not know exactly what the situation is because these people will not be allowed to disclose.
As I said yesterday, the events of September 11 were terrible, but at the same time, this bill, as was confirmed this morning, would allow us to ratify two international treaties that have been stalled for years.
Prior to September 11, the attorney general was in no hurry to ratify international agreements on terrorism. After that date, she has taken a certain amount of time to examine the situation, but once she gets an idea in her head it is full steam ahead.
This morning what she told us was that other countries had moved faster on this than we have. What came across in her answer this morning was an issue of pride, of seeing who would be the fastest now. She has realized that we have not been as fast as certain other countries and she wants to be in the fast group.
We should take all the time required to examine a bill that violates the fundamental freedoms of individuals and to allow the public to express its views, but what is happening is the opposite. Once the steamroller gets going, time is limited to the minimum under the standing orders; not a minimum plus a quarter of an hour or plus two hours, but a strict minimum, because this is urgent. The Minister of Justice is in a hurry and that is how it is going to be.
The other day a member asked me a question about the organized crime legislation. This bill has already been passed. It took time, but in the end, the Bloc Quebecois and the other parties took a unanimous stand after some 160 deaths. But there have been no deaths from terrorism in Canada yet, and this has been dragging on for a long time. What else are we to make of it except that the minister's pride is involved?