I'll add to the member's question. The criminal process is about enhancing the truth-seeking function. That's part of what the criminal trial is about. The way in which the government has said it is going to abolish preliminary inquiries, for all but those cases where life imprisonment is at play, acknowledges implicitly that there is a value served by the preliminary inquiry in terms of the truth-seeking function. If you're going to approach this issue from a principled perspective, our association has suggested that if you're going to make substantive, significant changes, then at the very least you should propose an amendment that would allow either the prosecutor, the Crown, or the defence to apply to the court for leave to require a preliminary inquiry—for the very reason that the honourable member has raised the question—since in some cases where life is not engaged, the truth-seeking function of the criminal process will benefit from one or the other, or both, of the parties having the opportunity to have a preliminary inquiry, in a focused way, that is managed through the case management powers of the court.
On September 18th, 2018. See this statement in context.