Mr. Farrant, thank you for sharing your difficult experience with this committee throughout the process. I wasn't part of the initial process, but I was following it prior to my election, and it's great to see it at this stage today. Mr. Cooper and all the colleagues you mentioned should be commended for moving the ball swiftly down the field on this.
Section 649 of the Criminal Code prohibits jurors from discussing the contents of jury deliberations, and the Supreme Court of Canada has stated:
The common law rule [of jury secrecy], in combination with s. 649 of the Code, helps to ensure that jurors feel comfortable freely expressing their views in the jury room and that jurors who hold minority viewpoints do not feel pressured to retreat from their opinions because of possible negative repercussions associated with the disclosure of their positions.
Mr. Cooper, is it possible that the new exception to the secrecy rule proposed in Bill C-417 would affect the integrity of the deliberative process in a negative way? Could you explain that?