Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being here. We really appreciate your expertise and the information you will be providing.
I want to address my question to Mr. Potter specifically, and I want to talk about when serious incidents happen with the RCMP.
To provide a little bit of context, at our last meeting, Mr. Scarpaleggia said that the Minister of Public Safety and our government have changed our views on civilian oversight bodies. I had a chance to review the blues from the minister's appearance on March 18, 2010, at this committee. When the minister was asked if he agreed with the concept that police should not investigate police when it comes to allegations of police misconduct, the minister replied:
No, I don't agree. Police should investigate police because sometimes they're the ones with the expertise to investigate. You don't want somebody who has no experience or no ability to investigate the police.
That was what Minister Toews said at the time, which I think provides context.
What I would like you to do, Mr. Potter, is explain again the three options that are available in the priority that you gave, where, first of all, there would possibly be a civilian investigative body that would provide the investigation for a matter of serious incident; the second option being, if one of those is not available, another investigative body within that province or jurisdiction; and then the third one, which I think is where everyone wants assurance that if that third option is taken there would be checks and balances and measures so that it would be unbiased and impartial.