Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to just advise Mr. Goguen—I believe he'll appreciate it—that Ms. Latimer was a distinguished public servant in the department working on issues of victims' rights, among others. I don't think we should go into issues of whether a person cares or does not care for victims' rights simply because they're an executive director of a particular organization. Let's all agree that everyone here cares about victims' rights as part of our concern with regard to criminal justice.
Let me go to the issues themselves. I might add parenthetically that one can oppose this bill precisely because one cares about victims' rights, in the sense that it would remove judicial discretion with regard to the impoverished accused and the like, who would end up being incarcerated. Mental illness considerations may be involved as well. A commitment to the rights of victims could invite one to critique this bill on the basis of victims' rights.
One of the things I wanted to speak to and ask both of you, because in your presentation, Mr. Waller, you gave some very compelling concerns that deal with the whole question of how we ought to have a more comprehensive policy and strategy in these matters, which would deal with issues of.... All the things that you said very compellingly, I won't go into.
In a throwaway line, but not an unimportant one, you mentioned that we can pass this bill, but that these are the other things we should be doing. My concern is if one passes this bill, one may not get to do all the other things you've been speaking to because people would say we've done what we need to do with regard to victims' rights. I think your agenda is one that we need to take seriously, and I would hope on a bipartisan, tripartisan approach, as you put it.
First, do you think that passing this bill would be without any adverse fallout on the merits? Because I think Ms. Latimer has raised some concerns.
Second, on the pragmatics of it, is it not possible that if we do pass it, we may not get to the point of doing that which you so persuasively put before us as an agenda?