Mr. Chair, I would withdraw my language and I would say it seems that the honourable members are attempting to mislead the Canadian public and those who are at this committee table.
What has been said is that they wish to make this legislation “crystal clear”, but before that they said it already was crystal clear. I don't know how it can already be crystal clear, and they need to bring forward amendments to make it crystal clear. Those two things don't jibe. They don't come together. They can't both stand and be equally true.
That being the case, my point, Mr. Chair, is that we now have a commitment from the member who brought forward this motion. That commitment would be that we're going to go through this clause by clause. At the end of that, we're going to seek a charter statement. Then, at the end of that, we can make changes if we want to.
I haven't been provided any sort of reason to trust that. According to our standing orders, once a clause is carried, it can only be revisited with unanimous consent. If we decide to go back to those clauses and attempt changes to strengthen this legislation, it is very easy for the Liberal members at this table to withhold their consent. If they do that, they hold veto power and holding veto power then means this legislation would have to move forward in its flawed form.
I'm not okay with that, but more importantly, Canadians are not okay with that. They've spoken out and stated that they wish for their charter rights to be protected, which again is why that charter statement is so important to have from the very beginning. I think the fact that we would keep that from happening—that we would not pursue that statement or seek that legal opinion—puts us at a huge disadvantage as members of this committee. Again, further to that, it puts the Canadian public at a huge disadvantage.
Rather than seeking to protect the Canadian public's rights and freedoms, I believe we would be acting in a manner that puts them in jeopardy. I believe that opinion is necessary now, before we continue. It will help us to strengthen this legislation and protect their charter rights, particularly under section 2(b).
Further to that, I'm not the only one who is saying these things. Yesterday, I made a statement with regard to what experts are saying. Of course, they are raising significant concerns with this legislation and they want their voices to be heard.
Now that was yesterday, and I think, Ms. Dabrusin might say, “Well, that was yesterday”, but now there are some amendments suggested that might be brought forward. They aren't yet on the table. They aren't being considered in any way but they've been suggested. Those amendments, it has been suggested by—