I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today.
We need to be constantly on guard to make sure people's human rights and civil liberties are guarded and protected.
I must admit that at the beginning, when you first made your presentations, I began to think Canada was in really bad shape. We should be ashamed. Compared to the rest of the world, we're in terrible shape. But as you began to flesh out your presentation, I felt a little bit better.
I do look at the rest of the world, and we watch the newscasts and we see what's happening in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. And while we Canadians shouldn't rest on our laurels and while we should listen to good folks like you and take into account your backgrounds and your concerns, I think we also need to say—and tell me if I'm wrong—that we live in a pretty good country as to adherence to law and human rights and protections. We have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; many countries don't even have such a thing. We have a Constitution that the mother of our institution of Parliament doesn't have. I just wonder if you could comment on that, Canadians compared to other western democracies. Are you suggesting...? And these need shorter answers. Are we in good shape? We need to know where we are in sort of the human-rights-o-meter, if you will.