Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all of you for appearing here today.
In particular, Mr. Chen, I know it's not easy to take a day off work to come here to give us the benefit of what was an unhappy experience for you.
I'm very interested, Ms. Shi, in what you've been saying about an active citizenry partnering in public safety. Also, you've said that this legislation is a good start to setting things right. I appreciate that as well.
But I'm also mindful of Mr. Chen's remarks in saying that “we want the chance to defend ourselves”. In my riding in British Columbia, we have many small stores. Shopkeepers and shop owners there come to me with a lot of worry about constantly being targeted by those who would steal their goods, or who even want to do them harm, because sometimes they have weapons. Other times they don't, but certainly the intent is there to take something away.
I'm interested in having you tell us, Ms. Shi, about how you feel that shopkeepers like Mr. Chen can benefit from this. Will this provide more clarity for them on how they can act and what they can do to defend themselves?