Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of our witnesses for coming to see us today.
Let me begin, Mr. Bota, by welcoming you and saying that it's nice to see you again. I attended the presentation of your report in Strasbourg, at the Council of Europe. I appreciated that and it's great to see you again and hear about your work and what's going on in Europe, and the comparison. We really appreciate that and it's very informative for our study.
I do want to point out—just to continue with something that Mr. Casey was asking about, just to let this committee know, and those who are watching—that data collection on the numbers with regard to human trafficking are a strong part of the national action plan on human trafficking that was recently passed in this Parliament. Absolutely, we agree that's something very important. In order to be able to understand the issue and to properly legislate, we have to know what the numbers are.
I'd like to ask you, Mr. Bota, about Germany, and the German example, in particular. I wonder if you believe that less regulation in prostitution leads to more or less underground.... I do hear from proponents of legalization. They believe that if it's legalized the government can then tax it and regulate it, and that having it all above board and visible is a result of legalization, and that's what happens when we legalize it.
Do you agree, or have you found, in the German example, that it's the other way? Is it more visible and better for prostitutes? Or is it driven underground and there is more organized crime? Which one is it?