Thank you. I see that I did not introduce myself otherwise than by pointing out to you that I was a member of a sister party of the Scottish National Party. I am a member of the Bloc québécois in the House of Commons. Before entering politics, I spent my entire career practising criminal law. When I started out in politics, I was minister of the Quebec government for nine years, mainly in public security and as Attorney General. I saw these programs come into the world. They did not exist in 1966, when I started practising law. These programs were created to meet needs, and now there is an act that provides a framework for these programs.
Is the physical protection of witnesses effective? Have witnesses been attacked or killed while they were under protection? I also wanted to ask Professor Fyfe whether he was able to compare the quite different systems that exist in Europe. What, in his view, is the best system, the one we should base ours on?
I said that the lives of innocent witnesses, that is to say people who have witnessed a serious crime or a murder committed by organized crime, might be in danger if they testified. Receiving this kind of protection is definitely a considerable weight for witnesses who have not carried on criminal activities. What is the percentage of innocent witnesses?
Lastly, I would like to know whether, in your jurisdictions, jury members know all the benefits that have been given to the people who come and testify before them?