I know the hour is late, Mr. Chair, but this is an extremely important amendment.
We didn't have testimony from the special advocates, but they did file a written submission to this committee. They are very concerned about this new provision, which would allow the minister to request of a judge that the minister be exempted from the obligation of providing the special advocate with a copy of the information that normally, in the current process that's been in place since the 9/11 2001 anti-terror laws, allows someone to have access to this information with the concerned person's interests at heart. So, they've expressed—and I think members will remember seeing this in their written submission—that the new provision that will allow the government to obtain an exemption will deny the special advocate access to information that even the government has deemed to be relevant to the case against the named person. There are no guidelines on what information may be withheld from the special advocate or why. It says only that it may be information that would not enable the named person “to be reasonably informed of the case made by the minister”. The special advocates have found this extremely problematic. I wish I had more time to present it, and I know the hour is late, but this is quite offensive to people who have been dealing with the law as special advocates for years now, and my amendment would ensure that the provision was removed.