You're quite right that, obviously, I was the new minister as of December 13, and we had created a new department as well. So the briefings were comprehensive, as they are when any new minister takes over a ministry, and in my case we were in the process of establishing a new department and trying to bring some cohesiveness to the various parts of the department from the very beginning.
I was briefed by Commissioner Zaccardelli in relation to key issues and challenges confronting the force at the time. I was also briefed by the then head of CSIS, Ward Elcock, in relation to the challenges and activities of CSIS. Certainly keep in mind the time. Mr. Arar had returned to Canada in September 2004. He, upon his return, through the months of October and November, had been calling for a public inquiry. Mr. Martin became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in November 2003. He was being briefed and was working through the necessary transition in the lead-up to becoming Prime Minister of Canada. So during the months of October and November there was substantial discussion taking place outside Parliament in relation to Mr. Arar and his situation. Therefore, clearly when Mr. Elcock and Commissioner Zaccardelli came to brief me, the Arar situation was one of many cases that we discussed.