I think those were points well made by Mr. Fraser. I certainly agree that the changes to the administration of justice offences will go a long way. My review with attorney general officials in my province is that this is an enormous downloading exercise, notwithstanding the excellent point he made.
The other concern, which I didn't raise, is one that was raised by Emilie Taman, who appeared before us. It's a twofold one.
First of all, Mr. Fraser pointed out that we're giving a lot of discretion to the Crown attorneys to make these decisions, but as Mr. Cooper said, that is done in an entirely secret way. They have no accountability for that decision. If it were the judges that had the discretion in sentencing—as they've had for decades, if not centuries—they would give reasons and provide some kind of accountability. Now it's people in backrooms who will decide whether they proceed one way or the other. She made that point.
She also made the point that where the Crown proceeds summarily the accused has no option of forum and is not entitled to a preliminary inquiry or trial in the superior courts. The Crown can seek more jail time without the accused having the option of being tried by a jury or the option to proceed in the higher court.
I think this whole enterprise is wrong-headed. I think the solution, with great respect, would have been what the mandate letter of the minister required her to do, which was to get rid of the mandatory minimums and give the judges the tools they've always enjoyed. That, I think, is a much more efficient way to do this and provides more accountability and transparency than this would ever do.