Having come from a family where my grandfather and my father and all his brothers served in both World War I and then World War II, we certainly have a lot of respect for those who have sacrificed years of their lives, and often their lives, for the values we hold dear, including those in the charter. But that doesn't mean we can come up with things that actually might well violate some of the principles of the charter. The charter is quite clear about proportionate penalties and section 7 and fundamental principles of justice.
Unlike government sponsored bills, where the Minister of Justice has an obligation to report to parliamentarians if there is a charter concern, I think on private member's bills, where there is no such obligation to report charter concerns, the committees, and all of us, need to be a bit more vigilant as to whether those basic charter protections that many of our forefathers fought and died for are in fact being protected in the bills that come forward. They may certainly respond in a heartfelt way to a problem, but may not be doing it in a way that's consistent with an overarching set of human rights values, charter values, and criminal justice values.