As I said at the outset, I am not a lawyer, nor am I an expert on legal issues. Based on my understanding and perception of the bill being debated today, what is proposed is not an extreme. On the contrary, I see this as an attempt to codify what has become a practice, as seen in certain court rulings. This bill is a fairly accurate reflection of the case law. It has the merit of clarifying these practices for some time to come and avoiding a situation where journalists would be compelled to testify or would have their journalistic materials seized in cases not deemed to be critical. This bill avoids multiple recourse to journalists as witnesses or to provide support to police carrying out investigations or to the courts.
On March 6th, 2008. See this statement in context.