Madam Chair, how long do I have to answer? Is there a custom that we reflect the length of the question in the answer? Okay.
I'll try to be brief, but out of respect to your questions, Larry, there are a few different elements I'd like to answer.
First of all, I agree with you that public trust is an issue within the justice system that we need to manage. The different bills we've put forward try to address this specifically, even going so far as looking at the tertiary grounds to deny bail by changing the test, which is specifically on the public confidence in the system, by considering both the number and the seriousness of the offences. You're right to point out trust, particularly for victims of sexual assault, who sometimes need to tell and retell their story to people who may or may not believe them.
Part of that story could be judicial vacancies. I think we need to do a better job on the pace than that was taking place if you go back to the timeline you began with. The pace we are now dealing with, as we've reduced that number, is more or less keeping up with the pace that judges are coming in at. The last update I got was that there were 37 at the beginning of this month. We may, on any given day, have half a dozen that could be filled in a batch, and you may have two or three who retire or take their leave from the bench.
In addition to that particular piece, we need to look at other systemic challenges. It's not just filling judicial vacancies, but the timeline that it takes to actually induce evidence in a sexual assault trial: whether there are enough provincial Crowns, where the bulk of these criminal prosecutions—as you would know very well—are going to take place, and whether there are enough resources in the system.
It would be a mistake to identify any one factor as contributing to overall delays. We want to address those, both by taking off the table the systemic delays in the long term by funding the system, putting judges in place, etc., and also by directly attacking the consequences of the Jordan decision by revamping the way the rules operate.
In the time I've been allotted, I'll cut my answer there.