Thank you, Chair.
And thank you very much. I apologize for not being here when you made your presentation.
I missed your assurances that the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has been delegated all the AG's authority when the AG has to authorize an actual prosecution, regardless of which law it is under. It's all been delegated to the Public Prosecution Service by law, in which case, I then have this question. Janet Hinshaw-Thomas was prosecuted. Charges were brought against her under section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act on the basis that she had aided and abetted illegal entry into Canada. That particular section requires the specific authorization or the express authorization of the AG. If that power, that authority, has been delegated to the Public Prosecution Service, then I would like to know why the Public Prosecution Service authorized the laying of such charges.
Second, the charges have now been dropped. So I would like to know why the Public Prosecution Service decided to drop the charges and what interpretation you are giving to section 117. Is it in conformity with the assurances that had been given by then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Elinor Caplan to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that good Samaritan human rights activists would never be prosecuted under that, and that's why it requires the express authority of the AG?