Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'd like to put a question at this point to Mr. Rai following from his testimony. Your testimony, Mr. Rai, began with an important affirmation of freedom of expression, association, and assembly, anchoring it in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and then spoke about the situation of small groups who endanger peaceful protest and the like.
This initiative is not unlike what other countries are doing, but my sense is if you look at our legislative framework, you will see it is what other countries are doing without this specific initiative. We have a whole set of provisions that can deal with these issues now, whether we're talking about provisions about unlawful assembly in section 63 of the Criminal Code, or with respect to section 67 and the proclamation of a riot, or with respect to section 30, an arrest for breach of an offence, or section 30 where it also speaks to the suppression of a riot. The most important thing—and this brings me to the whole issue here—is subsection 351(2) of the code, which sets out the offence of disguise with intent and where it reads:
(2) Every one who, with intent to commit an indictable offence, has his face masked or coloured or is otherwise disguised is guilty of an indictable offence
We have the legislation and enabling authority right now. Is it not more a question of the efficacy of law enforcement rather than the absence of law? I'm concerned about this trend of the over-criminalization in the Criminal Code and responding to specific incidents, such as what occurred with the Stanley Cup, with yet another law, rather than asking whether the legal system in place was already sufficient for that purpose and whether it is like that which exists in other countries.