Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I was hoping to have Ms. Nawaz here, but since this is televised, I'm sure she'll be able to see my comments.
When we talk about how someone's dressed, I need to let folks know that I received a Roman Catholic education from grades 1 to 13, mainly by nuns who wore similar garb. I also spoke to priests who told me that they removed their Roman Catholic collar when they were in Quebec because of some of the discrimination they felt. In that particular area there was a movement afoot to secularize society, especially in those areas. I was taught by a lay teacher who told me that she went to a school in the Upper Ottawa Valley, a separate school. The kids, when they walked home from school, had run-ins with the Protestant kids because they went to a separate school and not a public school.
My children were raised in a family where, at the dinner table, we made sure we didn't discriminate. When I hear comments across the table from other people, other politicians, who hint that this act has something to do with discrimination because of the way people look, I would point out that nowhere in it does it describe that. Canadians need to know, my constituents need to know, that when it comes to bigotry and discrimination, it's an equal opportunity evil. It sees no colour, it sees no race. This act has nothing to do with that. And if anyone says that, I would say there are motivations behind it.
We hear from lawyers. Lawyers will take up the cause for people because they believe in it. Some lawyers are saying this is discrimination and it's bad. Other lawyers have come before this committee and said....
So you're entitled to your opinion, but that does not necessarily make it correct. That's why we have a democracy. That's why we are here today. Please do not look at this and say, “Well, since the government of the day brought it in, they must be discriminatory against me”, or against any particular.... Nowhere in this act does it say so.
I just wanted to get that out of the way. I mean, I can describe discrimination: everybody in my family looks like me and everybody I'm talking about looks like me. I mentioned to another witness last night about the IRA, which was a terrorist organization trying to raise money in Canada, that today it would be classed as a terrorist organization. This has absolutely nothing to do with the colour of someone's skin, with the country they come from, but everything to do with who they are and what they want to do that is illegal. We're dealing specifically with terrorism here.
Mr. Bucci, having looked over your resumé, I think you're very well placed to discuss the need for reliable information to be received by the right people and at the right time. The first part of this legislation is about encouraging information that is relevant to national security, and that it be shared with national security agencies. In today's day and age, this is obviously critical.
Could you share your thoughts on the need for information sharing?