I understand. I meet people who are concerned about security making the same kind of comments. Any time a nation is under threat, or perceived threat, people ask those questions constantly, and that's good.
At this point, I believe if we look at our act itself, the Anti-terrorism Act, and compare it to those in other free and democratic societies--European primarily, American, Australian--I would suggest Canadian legislation is not the toughest. Certainly other acts of other countries have much more stringent proceedings and processes available to them, and those have been upheld in free and democratic societies as appropriate measures.
Perhaps I should simply speak on my own behalf. I'm here to hear from the committee to see whether the committee recognizes any specific concerns, powers you would like to see added, perhaps study other pieces of legislation from other countries. At this time, my concern more than anything is something Minister Day touched on, and I think we're addressing it through our budget—the additional money we've put aside for more front-line officers, border security, more federal prosecutors, and others who will give us tools on the ground to use the legal tools we have.
I think the issue of border security is not simply to pass a piece of legislation. You've got to be prepared to enforce it. We have to look at the issue of our ports, which our government is examining, and certain commitments have been made in that respect.
Although my primary responsibility would be the examination of the legislation, I would suggest some of the steps Minister Day has been taking to strengthen security at ground level should be addressed at this time, and I'm very pleased our government is moving in that direction.
I come back to the comments of Mr. Wappel. I think we're in agreement with the bill as passed.
Is it perfect? I don't think we should be patting ourselves on the back too soon. We cannot anticipate many situations, but given the response after the September 11 attack, I think the committee and the House did a remarkably good job, working on a non-partisan basis.
Might issues be fine-tuned? We've heard some suggestions respecting Justice O'Connor's recommendations. Will we look at them? Absolutely. Will we consider what the Supreme Court of Canada has got to say? Yes. Are there other issues like what the Commissioner of the RCMP just recently stated? Should we look at those issues? I think yes, and I think you have full authority in this committee.