I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense to me. I'm sure that all kinds of consultations are needed before a bill like this one can be drafted. However, while everyone around the table agrees that it was urgent, it took six months to get around to introducing the bill. The Senate nevertheless managed to do some relatively rapid work on it because the bill was adopted on third reading on June 22, just prior to the summer recess. The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights could have been consulted during the summer to speed things up, but it wasn't. My understanding is that it had to go through the House and that this was complicated.
What I'm personally most unhappy about is how long it took for the bill to be introduced after everyone across Canada had become aware of the fact that there was an urgent situation. The Supreme Court told us what had to be changed, but six months were spent on consultations. Your explanation strikes me as credible, but I'm not sure that it's enough. In terms of credibility, I think the government was negligent for the first six months. And now, there's a push for the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to speed things up and set things right. I'm displeased about it and just wanted to point that out to you.
Having said that, as I have approximately two minutes left, I'd like you to explain something to me. You mentioned in your opening address that there might be a conflict of interest if Crown attorneys were to be required, as stated in the bill, to inform victims of the consequences of a publication ban and of any failure to comply with the ban. I find this conflict of interest rather surprising and wonder whether you could take a minute to explain to me why this is a conflict of interest. Isn't the Crown attorney supposed to be making sure that everyone understands what's going on? I had always understood that the Crown attorney had nothing to prove. That being the case, I don't understand why there would be a conflict of interest. I'll let you explain it and even perhaps suggest an alternative solution.