Good morning, and thank you for being with us today.
The questions raised by the motion before us today arose many years ago in Quebec. I am a defence lawyer. I am just about the same age as Mr. Lemay, and we were both there for the infamous megatrial in Montreal, the aftershocks of which are still being felt and where the defence lawyers were better paid than the Crown prosecutors. You are certainly aware of that; there was talk of that in the newspapers. We have already heard from your colleagues, but I would be interested in your own comment in that regard.
Mr. Serge Ménard, who was the Minister of Public Safety in Quebec at the time of the gang wars, recently expressed his opinion on this motion. He said that this is not something that will enable us to successfully combat organized crime, because they will just have to change their name and start all over again. That is a valid argument, even though I do not necessarily agree. That is why I would like your opinion.
We cannot list the Hells Angels Inc. or Bandidos Inc. in the Quebec or Ontario Corporations Act or in federal legislation. Those groups would simply take different names. As long as we are unaware of those names, their activities cannot be prohibited. That is another problem.
How did you hear about the Mongols? Well, it happened one day when you arrested an individual wearing a coat that said “Mongols” on it. Without that inscription, you would not have known they existed. And yet, this is an organized crime group. Members of the mafia do no wear a name emblazoned on their chest, but they wear a tie, a nice hat, a double-breasted suit, and that sort of thing. Should we be thinking about including the “mafia” or “Cosa Nostra”, “Hells Angels” and “Bandidos” on the list?
We need to know whether the instrument that would be created by Parliament would help a Crown prosecutor talk about certain things. Let us not forget that the defence lawyer or, at least, others representing one part of the House of Commons, said something different. Why do they want this to be included in the anti-terrorist legislation? We believe it should be part of the Criminal Code.
Mr. Aubin, could you take that question?