I thank you for being here as well and for getting into some of the details, now that the minister is gone.
As we watched the G-20 unfold, the one thing Canadians did realize is that free speech is a principle of our democracy, and I think when the violent mob that was made up of the thugs, hooligans, and anarchists who set fire to the police cars and damaged property during the G-20...in no way, shape or form does it represent the democracy or our way of life.
I'm interested in delving into how the police, under some extremely difficult situations, were tasked and how they conducted themselves. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair was quoted as saying that the police were there to facilitate peaceful protests. He even went as far as saying the police responsibility in a democracy is the right to protect peaceful protests.
My question, really, is for Chief Superintendent MacNeil. During an interview last week on TV Ontario, Toronto Chief of Police, Bill Blair, said there was excellent communication among the security partners and a very clear command structure. First, do you agree with Chief Blair's assessment? Second, in order to give Canadians an idea of the kind of preplanning, the amount of planning that goes into these things--because I'd like to know a little more in-depth about how far in advance security arrangements were being worked on--how much effort went into that, as well as the costs associated with that?
Could you comment on that?