Thank you.
I have the impression that Ms. Block was the sponsor of this bill in the House, so we can look at the record of proceedings in the House. We don't really have to resort to whatever might have been Senator Grafstein's intention.
For the benefit of my colleagues, I'd like to read into the record the excerpt from Hansard in which Ms. Block speaks to the introduction of this bill. I have to assume that it would have been on first or second reading. I'll just give you the relevant extracts. Her words were as follows:
Please allow me to provide an explanation of the contents of this bill for the benefit of all hon. members. The bill seeks to explicitly include the act of suicide bombing within the context of the Criminal Code definition of “terrorist activity”. Suicide bombing is a monstrous way to wreak havoc because it shows the utmost contempt for human life.
Elsewhere she stated as follows:
Explicitly including “suicide bombing” in the definition would also serve to denounce this horrendous practice and to educate the public that such suicide bombing is repugnant to Canadian values.
Finally, elsewhere she stated as follows:
For these reasons, I agree that there are benefits in making an exclusive reference to suicide bombing in the definition of “terrorist activity”. However, it is also important in doing so not to adversely affect the current definition of terrorist activity. Fortunately, this bill has been drafted with precision in order to address this concern.
Clearly, if I'm right that Ms. Block was the sponsor of the bill in the House, she has placed on the record in Hansard her intention with respect to the bill, and in a way has issued an implicit caution that the bill is drafted with precision in order to ensure that it doesn't adversely affect the current definition of “terrorist activity”.
For this reason, I would strongly counsel my colleagues to maintain the intention that was expressed in the House when this bill was introduced and spoken to by Ms. Block, and to avoid any proposal, such as would be contained in Mr. Ménard's amendment, to widen the scope of the bill beyond “bombing”.
Thank you.