Well, first of all, I'm disappointed that the Canadian Bar Association would put forward something with so little actual fact or proof behind it. The fact of the matter is that it kind of sounds to me like they don't really have trust in Canadians, which I don't think is the fundamental principle that our government—I mean government as a whole—is based on.
I absolutely disagree with that, because what this does, what this legislation repealing section 13 does.... It's a question I get around town halls all over our country: what happens next? That's basically what they're asking: what happens after section 13 gets repealed? Well, at the end of the day, when you're repealing a piece of legislation like this the consequences will be that hate speech is actually going to be taken more seriously, I believe, because it will be investigated under the Criminal Code of Canada. It will be investigated by police officers. There will not be a branch of the bureaucracy looking over what is and what isn't free speech in our country.
I believe it's going to be a more accountable system. I believe it's going to be more open to Canadians. A system that is more open and transparent to Canadians can only be a good thing.
As for whether or not the Canadian Bar Association likes that openness and transparency, I can't control that, but I believe this is going to be a real plus, not only for free speech for our country but for the process and for respecting our natural rights as Canadians.