Thank you.
I would like to thank all three of you. I am very happy to see you again. I think maybe we are being a little more attentive than we were last time. When you last appeared, we knew we would have to go and vote and we perhaps did not listen as closely as we could have to what you said. This time, you have our full attention. However, I am not sure that I heard the answers I was hoping to hear this morning, but that is another story.
Mr. Doyle, I liked what you had to say. Our work is of a practical nature, let us not fool ourselves. We have to leave the theory of the Criminal Code sections behind. We are familiar with them, we have all read them. We want to see how they are applied. The mission of this committee is to see whether these sections have been properly implemented since 2008, if there are any problems, if changes need to be made, and so on. That is more or less the role that this committee has been given.
There are often horror stories in practice. Those who have practised law or who have challenged a case have these kinds of stories to tell. Yesterday, I was talking to colleagues about the time I challenged a ticket in Ontario. I asked for a trial in French but a mistake was made. Simply by listening to how my name was stated I knew that I was not in the right room. I should point out that this happened at the very beginning of the implementation of these provisions. Since then, I will concede that there has been a lot of progress. However, there are still some issues that need our consideration.
Ms. Soublière and Mr. Francoeur, perhaps you can respond to my concern about the Department of Justice. I realize that you have explained your mandate to us. Mr. Francoeur, according to what you stated, the Criminal Code falls under the federal government. We pass the laws and it is up to the provinces to use them. That is more or less what I have read between the lines.
Has any effort been made, have any meetings been held, or has any follow-up been done in order to see how this is unfolding? I did not get a sense of that when I was listening to you. You expected that this committee would do the work and that it would get answers. We have received answers from some provinces, and I am looking forward to receiving answers from the other provinces. We are not here to hinder the work of the provinces but to attempt to assist them. Have you taken any specific steps to see how section 530 and the following sections are being applied on the ground?