Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, lady and gentlemen, for your testimony today. It's greatly appreciated.
We've heard, specifically with respect to section 176, varying opinions about what the role of the Criminal Code is, whether this section is applicable in this day and age or not, and whether similar protections are offered in other sections of the code.
One argument I find to be quite fascinating—and I'd like to get your opinion on this, Ms. Buckingham and Mr. Simpson—is that the Criminal Code's objective is to deter members of the community from carrying out certain acts that are disruptive, unlawful, and so on. We hear that this section needs to stay in the Criminal Code because we don't want to send a wrong message. We've also heard that there are other sections in the Criminal Code that would apply.
I'm kind of grappling with this concept. The Criminal Code's objective is to deter, to prevent, and to keep the peace within our society, but does it also carry a value of policy, of proactive deterrence, by having such a section in here, to let people know that even though there have been only 30 charges under this section, that this is not acceptable?
Ms. Buckingham, would you like to go first?