That's right. I'm on the ground working on this.
I think on a go-forward basis, with regard to some of the criteria of who can attend or not, right now we have much more flexibility. Let's put it that way. In the past, criminal trial lawyers n particular were very hesitant to have complainants or their accused attend remotely. Now they are seeing the benefits of that happening.
I understand your views, Mr. Maloney, about how it's difficult to monitor a video situation. We're taking lots of steps. If somebody does attend remotely, we have them turn their camera around. The complainant in my case, who is testifying right now, is in a hotel room so that there are no distractions.
All of this is to say that I agree that an in-person hearing is a lot more interesting. It goes a lot more smoothly and it's less tiring, but nonetheless, sometimes our witnesses are out in remote areas and it's very difficult for them to attend in court. This gives us the flexibility and the access to justice that we didn't see available beforehand. I think that is tremendous.
I saw the CBA report, and I read it with great interest. I thought it was a tremendous piece of work. Mr. Berkes, I'm glad you're here. I certainly wouldn't want to see many of the improvements that we've made in conducting trials go away.
The other really important thing that's changed because we're doing things virtually is that the need for digital documents has become crucial. This paper-based world that the court systems were logged into.... There was movement before the trial. I actually did a study on this in 2018, about technology across the country and in the U.S. and the U.K. Canada is very far behind in terms of moving to an electronic digital-based system. COVID-19 has forced us to use more technology. I would hate for that to go away. Even if we're in person, we can use more digital documents and kill fewer trees.
I don't want to hog the stage here, but those are a couple of my thoughts.