Public Safety Committee on March 1st, 2007

[Marc Grégoire]

No.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

He will not know why he has been placed on that list?

[Marc Grégoire]

No.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Monsieur Comartin.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

I'm deeply offended, Mr. Chair. That was going to be my question.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

I can't believe the right and the left have the same mind on something.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

That is shocking.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Yes, shocking.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Grégoire, pursuing the chair's question, because I seriously was going to ask it--

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Sorry.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

No, that's fine, Mr. Chair.

So you're not going to tell them why they're on the list. They're going to have absolutely no information as to why they're on the list. Is that correct?

[Marc Grégoire]

That is correct. Actually, we--

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

That's fine.

So they will have no opportunity to get themselves off the list by being able to establish that in fact the information--much as has happened with Mr. Arar, and let's go down the list.... You're just repeating the same thing we've done so many times in the past. Didn't we learn anything?

[Marc Grégoire]

No, we have learned, and we are using the lessons from Arar, you can be sure of that. In the regulation--

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

But did you learn anything from the Supreme Court of Canada decision on Friday?

[Marc Grégoire]

In the regulation, we have specified the guidelines that would be used to determine--

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

All kept secret.

[Marc Grégoire]

No, the guidelines are published. Look, the guidelines are--

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

The guidelines are, but the information that's behind it is coming either from CSIS, the RCMP, or from external forces outside the country. You're going to take information from outside the country.

[Marc Grégoire]

The person who will be put on the list will be representing a very high risk to aviation security. We're talking about terrorists.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Based on information that's coming from secret sources.

[Marc Grégoire]

Based on information given to us by CSIS and the RCMP.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

I commend the Supreme Court of Canada decision to you.

I don't have any other questions, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Garry Breitkreuz]

Thank you.

We then go over to the government side, Mr. Norlock, for seven minutes, please.