Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing this afternoon.
Members of the committee received a statement from the Minister of Justice.
I don't know if you have had an opportunity to review that statement issued today. In the letter from the Minister of Justice, the minister states that the government supports the amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act but objects to, in particular, the penalty provisions contained in Bill S-201 on the basis that they are inconsistent with the general approach that has been taken to other forms of discrimination in a human rights law context rather than a criminal law context.
I wonder if you might be able to comment on that observation by the minister.