With the adoption of Bill S-3, Part VII of the act has been strengthened and made subject to judicial control. I made recommendations to the current government and I insisted that it take rapid action in that regard, because I feel it is extremely important that these institutions take measures immediately to ensure that the new Part VII is fully upheld. If they do not act and do not change their way of doing things, we may indeed be faced with the risk of legal action, which is not at all what we intended.
The government must respect the law. It is possible that, once in awhile, legal action will have to be taken to hold the government accountable or to clarify its obligations, but legal action should never be taken to get the government to understand what it has to do. The law is clear. The government must take positive measures.
My lawyer has just told me that judgments car clarify obligations, but of course they always entail financial and human costs, as well as delays. Further, they highlight the fact that the government does not respect the rights of its citizens, nor does it uphold its own laws. So there really is a problem.