I will call to order this 71st meeting of the public safety and national security committee. Welcome to everyone.
Welcome, Mr. Nicholson and Ms. Gallant. It's good to have you with us.
Pursuant to the order of reference of Friday, June 9, which was 10 days ago, our topic for today is Bill S-231, an act to amend the Canada Evidence Act and the Criminal Code (protection of journalistic sources).
We will have two panels of witnesses. The first panel will be the sponsor of the bill in the House, the originator of the bill in the Senate, and a collaborator on that bill. Our second panel will be members from the Canadian Media Coalition. I just heard from the clerk that Mr. Tom Henheffer, the executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, is delayed in transit, unfortunately. There have been airplane cancellations, so it is unlikely that he'll be with us today.
I also want to note for the committee that we attempted to get witnesses from the RCMP, the OPP, and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. However, due to short notice as the principal reason, they're not able to be with us today. The Association of Chiefs of Police did submit a written brief. It is a fuller brief than what they were able to present at the Senate hearings on this bill, so I would commend it to your attention as well.
We'll begin the first panel with Senator Carignan, Senator Pratte, and Monsieur Deltell. I understand that we can expect the bells to ring at some point for a House of Commons vote. At that point I will seek unanimous consent to consider going a little longer. We'll just see where we are when the bells ring.
Who will begin?
Monsieur Carignan.