Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Minister, it's good to see you here today.
I'm interested in learning more about the conditional sentencing orders that are also part of Bill C-5. When I had the honour of serving as the Attorney General of Ontario, we introduced a similar notion dealing with bills, introducing bill.... That's in the province. In fact, I recall making a certain announcement with Mr. Brock when he was a Crown prosecutor. He was quite supportive of that initiative.
It was an opportunity to allow people who had some serious mental health or addiction challenges.... Instead of being remanded and incarcerated while they were waiting for their trial, they were allowed to be in a community setting, under strict conditions, where they could get support services. There was ample evidence to demonstrate that this would be far more beneficial to them and to society in general.
What evidence and benefits have you seen in terms of the use of conditional sentencing orders that have compelled you to reintroduce them through Bill C-5?