Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Canadian Bar Association is very pleased to have been able to accept the committee's invitation to appear today on Bill C-25.
I'd like to start by telling the committee members about the distinction between the Federation of Law Societies and the Canadian Bar Association, so that you understand the difference between our organizations.
As the body representing the independent regulators of the legal profession, the Federation of Law Societies is the primary party that is negotiating with the government around the application of the money laundering regime as it affects lawyers. The Canadian Bar Association, on the other hand, is the national professional association of lawyers across Canada. As such, our mandate is to assist the government in crafting the best possible law while protecting the rule of law and the rights of all Canadians with respect to their legal rights.
I'm now going to ask Mr. Skolrood, who is chair of the national constitutional and human rights law section of the Canadian Bar Association, to address a couple of issues in the bill.