Certainly, we want the courts to have the resources to be able to hear these cases. This is why I spend part of my time as Minister of Justice--and it is my responsibility to do so--on the appointment of superior court judges, to make sure that our courts are staffed, and that they are able to hear the cases that are brought before them.
Again, this bill doesn't address the subject you're talking about. There are negotiations that take place. You were involved with the criminal justice system in a previous incarnation before becoming a member of Parliament. As a lawyer practising criminal law back in the 1980s, in representing my clients, certainly on many occasions I sat down with the crown attorneys and talked to them about the possibility of moving ahead on some charges and not on others. It seems to me that's a component that exists within our criminal justice system. But it's important that there be judges in place, that there be courts in place, and that there be resources in place to adequately deal with these issues.
Many of these issues, as you know, are administered at the provincial level. Our job at the federal level is to set the law as we see it should be for Canadians, and basically that's what we're doing. We're making a statement about how we think people should be treated and how we can best protect the public. It's a balancing act, Mr. Hanger, and this bill does what it's supposed to do.