This bill clarifies the powers of CSIS. It will facilitate the work of the courts because it eliminates the grey areas that existed when the legislation was applied, both with respect to protecting witnesses and to the capacity of the service to operate abroad and exchange information with our allies, including Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and France. They are our allies, and they are facing the same challenges we are, which is monitoring individuals who travel from country to country, threaten the safety of Canadians and attack innocent people. That is exactly what this bill does. It restores the powers that enabled the service to be effective in the past. At this critical time, as we face a growing threat, it is all the more important to preserve the capacity of CSIS to protect Canadians.
