But I am still a colleague of the two witnesses here.
I think there are two ways of answering your question. First, I cannot give you the answer you are looking for, insofar as we cannot tell you how useful this tool or protective mechanism has been in protecting police officers working undercover. We do not have that information. As my colleague Mr. Scromeda pointed out, law enforcement officers would be in a better position to respond to that question.
However, you will perhaps recall that when we appeared before the committee a few years ago for consideration of Bill C-24, several representatives from the police force came to tell you about the impact of the decision in the Campbell and Shirose case. I think it was the Toronto Chief of Police, Mr. Fantino, and probably the RCMP Commissioner, who said that several investigations had to be stopped or put on hold because police activities may have led to offences. The decision was made that it was better to stop or suspend the investigations.
To a certain extent, it is up to the police to answer. Nevertheless, the police were given back the authority to engage in that sort of investigation after the situation in question.