Thank you very much, Chair.
I would note that I, too, had a motion that I wanted to present. I understand that'll occur after this is dealt with. It concerns the order of the House regarding the nomination and the extension of the term of the Privacy Commissioner.
On this amendment, yes, of course, I'm in agreement because it follows on what I was attempting not very elegantly to do. I agree.
When we had our last panel of witnesses on this issue, we were becoming aware that there is what is seen and there is what is unseen. It's not for nothing that our study on MindGeek and Pornhub has really stirred up so much attention among ordinary Canadians and the media. The Internet space, the web and the dark web are a completely new area of study. These are things I certainly didn't have any knowledge of prior to the very recent revelations that we've had over the past few years about just who and what, as we far as we know, operates in this space. We don't know. This study is so critical. It's about the non-consensual use of images, and we need to get a fuller understanding.
This is really one of the first times that a parliamentary committee is attacking this area. Certainly that is what I was trying to do when I moved my motion during that meeting a month or so ago in that we should hear from more witnesses. I'd like to hear from Professor Lukings again. She certainly had a lot to say on this issue. Also, we may be able to find someone else, such as perhaps a retired RCMP officer who has worked in this area and can maybe speak much more freely about the kind of work that he or she had been seeing.
I really think that this is an area we need to more fully explore. We need to have as much information as possible before we are ready to do that report and put forward recommendations, which I think will be very welcomed by the Canadian public. I'm not saying that it'll be the last word on it—far from it—but I think it's going to be a very important step forward in opening a crack in this door, which clearly has been closed.
Of course, in addressing the issue of Pornhub, our intent was never to drive the illegal traffic to the dark web. That was never our intention. We need to understand what we are doing in this space and for that reason, I support the amendment. Thank you.