Thank you.
I would submit that Bill C-51 still does present us that opportunity, if government backbench members—there's not a member of the executive here—stand up in their own right stand at this committee and allow amendments, because that can happen. Bills can be improved. It's only in recent Parliaments that we have seen bills go through, with witnesses not being listened to, and the resulting bill being the same as the one that came to committee. That's unacceptable in a democracy like Canada's.
In any event, related to the CSE, I have here the report of the U.K.'s Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. This is one of the possibilities that was looked at for proper oversight of all their intelligence agencies. In the report, the chair says, “The Committee sets its own agenda and work programme” and “takes evidence from Government Ministers, the heads of the intelligence Agencies” and security agencies, etc.
Would that concept at least be helpful in bringing some satisfaction that there is proper parliamentary oversight of all our security agencies and give Canadians some confidence that, on the one hand, security agencies are doing their job using the authorities they have under the law, but also, on the other hand, not overreaching and using the law for things that might impact on civil liberties and freedom of expression?