Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I would like to add a few words. I am from Vancouver, and we often use the example of the Stanley Cup riot. I agree with Ms. Boivin that those unlawful assemblies during the Stanley Cup in Vancouver were disgusting and disturbing. In a society like ours, we must have the tools to prevent those actions and to react. The work of police officers is very important and we have to support them in a balanced way.
Just now, one of the witnesses told us that we have to find a balance between the right to participate in a demonstration and the need for security in our society for individuals and their property. I agree that we are all seeking that balance. However, from what I have heard today, I am concerned that we are not looking for balance, but for a way to make the work of police officers easier, at the expense of the rights of individuals and their right to express themselves, as they have always done in our western democratic society.
I asked our witness Mr. Webb about the possibility of innocent people being caught in the net of police officers because of Bill C-309. I am talking about people with no intent to be violent or to create a riot. He said that, if police officers arrest someone who does not intend to be violent or to break the law, it does not matter because they would be found innocent in court. A Conservative member then said that that was impossible because, when you participate in an unlawful assembly, you are not innocent, but that those who do not intend to create a riot will not be arrested. I do not agree with that, and that is the Gordian knot of the NDP amendment.
I would like to tell you a little story in relation to our current debate. I want to talk about the crowd that was out in the streets during the 2010 Winter Olympics. On the first night of the Olympics, hundreds of thousands of people were out on Georgia Street. There was a parade with celebrities. There were a lot of people. The crowd was not aggressive and it did not intend to create problems or to be violent.
Among those people, there were people from Vancouver and elsewhere. There was also a small group of masked people with black clothing. They were basically professional activists. They were there to create trouble. That is concerning, I agree.
At any rate, things happened during the night. I saw it on TV, like everyone else here. There were 20 or 30 young people dressed like that. They broke the windows of the Bay. That was violence against property. What did the police do? They watched them and did not arrest them. Nothing ever happened. No one else was involved in that...