As you probably know, I expressed my disappointment and the disappointment of the government that two provisions of the Anti-terrorism Act were not extended. There was a sunset clause on two of those sections, and a vote in Parliament was unfavourable to extending them.
I supported them because they provide an additional tool for police officers. One of the things that we have to adapt within the justice system is to try to stay ahead of the individuals and the organizations that want to do harm to us. I remember, as a member of this committee, experiencing the challenges that the Internet brought about. The law wasn't written for the Internet, and it was incumbent upon us to try to stay ahead of technology and stay ahead of the individuals who would exploit or abuse or commit crimes or steal in all the different ways.
That, to me, was the challenge, so I draw a parallel with that on the Anti-terrorism Act. Some say, “You didn't use that section, so therefore get rid of it.” That is actually not the approach that I think we should have. We should recognize that terrorism is a fact, that it's not going to disappear overnight, and that we have to be prepared. So we try to take advice from all sectors of society, but certainly in working with police across this country, when they say these are some of the tools we need, I can understand that because I remember being told that we had to have big changes to the laws with respect to wiretap, in view of a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada and in view of changes in technology, that we had to keep up with it.
It's not enough to say that we don't need these tools today so therefore we shouldn't have them. I really don't believe that is the approach. So our challenge within the Criminal Code is to try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, if that's possible, and if that's not possible, to make the changes so that we will have the tools in place to catch those individuals who would like to destroy society.
I thank you for your comments. I know you supported the extension of those anti-terrorism provisions, and quite frankly, I thank you for your commitment on the justice issues.
I mentioned yesterday in response to a question from you that I know the question of victims and their rights has been important to you, so I thank you as well for your support on that.