Thank you very much.
Thank you for your appearance here today.
You will remember, Minister, that earlier this year there was quite a bit of discussion in Parliament, and a number of motions and debate, with respect to the protection of people's religious freedom. Also, with respect to the charter and the Constitution, people's right to practise their religion is a fundamental right that Canadians have.
I was surprised when I had a look at the details of this bill that one of the things it does is to remove the specific protection for religious services and members of the clergy. Now I notice that at the time it was announced, there was no mention of this. It was just said that it was obsolete, redundant, and no longer relevant.
I think most people in this country would agree with me that it is serious when anybody disrupts, threatens, or interrupts anybody's religious service, no matter what it is, and that it's worthy of the special section in the Criminal Code. Most people I think would agree that it's not the same as causing a disturbance at an arena or interrupting a meeting.
Why don't you agree with me that this section is in fact still relevant?