Thank you, Chair.
Knowing and understanding our laws is a very critical part of citizenship. We live under thousands of laws, from three levels of government, and many people who are born here don't even understand the laws.
Just to give you the best example I can think of, I don't do my own income tax. Every year I say I'm going to do it myself, and I get halfway through the process and I say, “I'm going to check with the experts”, because I think I'm going to pay too much or I'm going to pay too little. It's very complex.
And then there are all the municipal bylaws. If you're a homeowner or you're in an apartment, you don't want to run afoul of the law. You have to understand the municipal laws. For instance, you could find yourself breaking a law on recycling totally inadvertently if you put the garbage in the wrong container.
And then there are provincial laws. For instance, most people don't know that in Ontario it's against the law to be intoxicated in a public place. People who are born here don't even know that. All you have to do is look at Grey Cup weekend. And it's hard to believe that, but it's true.
Then we have criminal laws, of course, federal laws, which are the most important because the sanctions are the worst.
I was born in Canada, and sometimes I don't know the laws, so I know it must be confusing for a new immigrant. So my question is this. How do new immigrants learn the laws of Canada? Is there anything we should be doing to make that an easier process?
Maybe we could start with Mr. Shan and just briefly work along.