I just want to reinforce what Monsieur Tremblay said a few minutes ago, as well as what Mr. Marston has just said. The more one believes that Canada has a stellar reputation in terms of human rights protection, the more I would think we would want to sign on to this protocol, because it demonstrates that in fact we hold a very high standard, or a standard at least, which if we are not meeting, we certainly aspire to.
I'm reminded that in the last few days I've been in three of the federal women's penitentiaries. One of the things that more than one of the staff, including one very senior staff person, said to me was that my visiting helps hold them to a standard that they know they'll be looked at. They know I'll come in and I'll document what happens. They see that as a positive—most people.
Occasionally people will be concerned, but this is about holding that standard and aspiring to it, not about condemnation. Where there are problems—and there certainly have been problems, and I've outlined some of the problems I see that persist in our system—oftentimes the people working in that system recognize that a good living environment, if you will, for those who are detained is also a good working environment.
So aspiring to those kinds of humane, non-degrading, non-torturous...and I thank the chair for correcting us in terms of making sure we don't stray into trying to redefine what torture is. The reality is that when we have those standards, then as Canadians we can say we're living up to those standards as demonstrated by our desire to ratify and stand behind something we helped introduce. I think it sends a very clear message, not just to those who are detained but also to those who are working in those areas. They don't go into that work to be degrading or inhumane; they go into work because they want to do something positive.