Thank you, Madam Jennings.
With respect to your first question, I alluded to important aspects that were addressed, but the report did not include any recommendations. Rather, it identified what the individuals had said. To my knowledge, there has been no follow-up.
With respect to updating the Criminal Code, I think it's a laudable idea and that many people, police officers, lawyers and judges, would not object. We do have to be realistic though. I personally say jokingly that the Criminal Code is regularly amended. There is a poll that is carried out to check that all lawyers, judges and police officers know the Criminal Code sections, and then they are changed. Except that there are only additions. For some sections, we are at subsection .72, and the list goes on. It is burdensome and sometimes useless.
The Bar Association has often spoken not so much to object, but to note that bills are sometimes passed to condemn a particular event and amend the Criminal Code, but that the code in some cases already covers the given offence. It may not be necessary to weigh it down.
The following approach would consider both the fundamental offences overall and issues of procedure. It would be an updating of what I was referring to earlier on regarding the disclosure of evidence, for instance. Today, the situation is difficult both for the Crown and for the defence and judges because the trial judge has jurisdiction over the process. Yet, it is between the time when the charge is brought and the trial date that the disclosure of evidence takes place. That is when problems occur. Judges do not necessarily have the tools they need. Indeed, trial judges must be designated. For instance, we could provide authority for a judge to act. Parties would then be bound by these types of judgments.
That's an example of a procedural reform that will be very useful. Obviously, that would be ideal. I think we have a duty to be realistic. I don't know if it's in the cards, but it's certainly an objective. In Quebec we have rewritten the Civil Code. So, it is possible to do this. In fact, it would be advisable.