Thank you very much.
Thank you to the three of you for taking the time to come and meet with us today.
My question is specifically for Peter at first.
I think there have been a lot of conversations about the haste with which this legislation is being pushed through. I don't think anybody is saying that it's being done in a way that gives us all the time needed to look at it in detail. I'm also concerned about the centralization of more and more of power in the hands of one person, one minister. I'm not just talking about the current minister, because once a law goes into place, we're talking about future ministers as well. I'm concerned that lawmakers have had very little say, because so much of it is going to be done through ministerial orders; and in many ways we're being asked to discuss a bill for which there is very little clarity, because so much of it is going to be in regulations.
I would say that the one area that has already created a lot of emotional energy is section 19, that is, the revoking of the permanent residency. It's very, very clear that the minister himself was not aware of it. At least when he came here, he said that he was open to amendments, which makes me think, if that was not his intention, then why wasn't it changed before it arrived at this committee or before it ended up in the House? Now for him to say that he is open to amendments still makes me a little leery.
For a lot of Canadians out there, or residents in Canada, they are experiencing a lot of anxiety. You and a wide array of others have identified this concern. By the way, we heard this concern expressed a number of times yesterday.
Can you explain how you arrived at this interpretation, and why it poses a concern?