I'm beginning.
Thank you for the invitation to present the Canadian Bar Association's views on Bill C-52 to you today. I'm Gaylene Schellenberg, a lawyer with the legislation and law reform department of the CBA. The CBA is a national association of more than 37,000 members, including law students, lawyers, notaries, and academics. An important aspect of our work is seeking improvements to the law and the administration of justice. It's from that perspective that we appear before you today.
With me is Suzanne Costom, an executive member of the CBA's national criminal justice section. The section represents crowns and defence lawyers from every part of the country. Ms. Costom is a defence lawyer from Montreal who also practices in ad hoc prosecutions.
I'll pass it over to her to present the substance of our brief.