Last night I attended a reception where an Ontario judge gave a presentation to a group of decision-makers. One of the pieces of advice he gave us was to make sure we had the facts before we delivered a decision, as naturally he would do.
It's interesting, because--I'm just looking at this submission by the Canadian Arab Federation--there are some accusations here and profiling right in this document, if you look at it. It says “the Harper administration indicates the level of racial profiling”. That's profiling me because I'm part of that government. And I don't like the lack of respect, because it's Prime Minister Harper, and I think as citizens we should always recognize the title given to our Prime Minister, no matter which government it is.
Then if you look on the second page, it says, “Security officials have made several grievous errors in the past”. That's a generalization of security officials. If you go further down, it says, “security agencies are therefore given free rein to violate our rights and freedoms”. That's completely broad-brush, stereotyping security agents.
We talked a little jokingly about lawyers, and you profiled lawyers. This is the sort of thing that happens. And for you to believe that you're a victim of this.... I'd like to have the facts--not what is written in the media--of how many times the Government of Canada and the people who are serving our nation as civil servants, whether they be security officials or not, have violated the rights and freedoms of any of our citizens. It's very rare.
I'd like to make that statement because I think we're accusing people who are working for the security of this country, and I really have more confidence in them than you have put in this document.
I'd like to ask Madam Hall this question, if she would just let me know: what are the procedures in France and Germany with regard to these types of procedures?