I'm really pleased to know that you're as abreast as you are of these issues and that you've been meeting with the APT.
National preventative mechanisms take different forms around the world. Many of them are multi-party structures that are designed to ensure that they address the unique challenges, including at the subnational level—so, for us, that's in provinces and territories or in spaces where there is indigenous governance.
From our perspective, the key is that we engage with the experts. That means both the Association for the Prevention of Torture—absolutely—and the subcommittee, which comprises experts. They're the ones who do the country visits, and they've made themselves available to Canada to provide guidance. I think that's really important, as is engaging with civil society organizations, many of which are with us today, and drawing inspiration from some of the proposals that they have recommended.
Federal states across the world have ratified the OPCAT and have successfully established NPMs. We're confident that, working together, we can find a made-in-Canada solution to this.
I want to echo and really emphasize this: Should Canada sign on? Yes, absolutely. Does that send the right message? Yes, absolutely. It's incredibly important that we do this without delay and that we continue to engage with provincial and territorial counterparts and with indigenous representatives to make sure that we do this in a way that will address the issues across the country.
Yes, that'll be complex. However, it needs to be done, and it should be done.
Thank you.