Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us today. Their participation is valued.
We're dealing with a subject in Bill S‑12 that I think is important. It's a bit incidental initially, because there's a rush with the sex offender registry part of the bill, but the bill also addresses the issue of publication bans. This seems to me to be a serious matter. Victims who have testified before us on all kinds of bills and situations have often talked about these orders.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a number of things will be repeated in every case. What is a publication ban? I know that not everyone will read the part of the Criminal Code amended by Bill S‑12 and be able to understand what it's about or what can or can't be done. It should be possible to produce informational material. In fact, Ms. Dhillon just asked the question. We're all on the same topic. This material could be distributed to victims beforehand. Before victims decide whether they want a publication ban issued in their case, they need to be able to understand the implications of such a ban.
Of course, each case is unique. The Crown prosecutor would probably have to add specific details for each case or answer questions. In addition, courts or courthouses could make resources available to victims to answer their questions. This is already being done in different ways on different subjects. In short, there's surely a way to organize more specific information.
Generally speaking, do you think it would be possible to produce a kind of tutorial, even if it meant that victims would have to enlist the services not only of a lawyer, but also of an educator, to develop materials that would adequately inform them of their rights and obligations in connection with a publication ban?