Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Townsend and Mr. Stamatakis, I would like to thank you for being with us today to discuss Bill C-51. We are pleased to have you here.
My first question is for both of you.
In 2007, the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security studied the federal Witness Protection Program. In the ensuing report, some questions were left unanswered. For one, it was not determined if the program could accommodate a teenage member of a street gang whose safety might be at risk for cooperating with the authorities.
Perhaps I will begin with you, Mr. Stamatakis. How would you answer that question? Could the program accept someone under the age of 18 who is a member of a street gang? I would also like to know if you have encountered a case where a minor has used the witness protection program—not as a child of someone who has been offered protection, but as a witness in a trial, etc.