Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our guests for being here today.
I have some questions for Mr. Krongold as well, about clause 17, which is proposing adding a new section 486.31 to the Criminal Code. First of all, you'll note it requires a judge or a justice to come to the conclusion that such an order to protect the identity of a witness “is in the interest of the proper administration of justice”. In making that determination the judge shall consider:
(a) the right to a fair and public hearing;
(c) whether the witness needs the order for their security or to protect them from intimidation or retaliation;
(d) whether the order is needed to protect the security of anyone known to the witness;
(f) society’s interest in encouraging the reporting of offences and the participation of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process;
I assume you didn't have a chance to read or hear the testimony of Timea Nagy, who appeared at our last meeting—the transcript is probably not available yet. She's a woman who was a victim of human trafficking herself, and has assisted more than 300 victims of human trafficking. She made a very clear case for why some of those witnesses would need this kind of protection: they are significantly intimidated by criminal organizations that are involved in human trafficking. I'd suggest you take a look at that.
Second, it's my understanding that the right to face the accuser is not an absolute principle. In fact, the Supreme Court of Canada has found that this right must be balanced with the truth-seeking tradition of the court and protection of witnesses. For example, there would be situations where the ability to give anonymous testimony would be a matter of life and death, such as when the accused is a member of organized crime and an undercover officer might testify, or is a terrorism suspect and a CSIS agent might be testifying.
I also understand that these similar provisions are found in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand, in their criminal codes, which allow witnesses to testify anonymously where the court finds that it's in the best interests of the proper administration of justice to do so, and taking into account the right to a fair and public hearing.
What's your comment on those protections?