Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I want to take a moment—I should have done this earlier—to thank the police officers for their work in dismantling the Ottawa siege. I am very grateful to them. I've spoken to several of them over the last few days, and I know they worked very hard.
I will address you, Mr. Duheme. In a CBC/Radio-Canada article published on February 22, you stated that the RCMP had been consulted about the various temporary powers that had been granted to police forces under the Emergencies Act. You said that if the government decided to repeal the act tomorrow, you would go back to the traditional tools. You also said that it was difficult to quantify their use, especially in a context where police were also using existing laws and powers granted by municipal and provincial governments.
In light of all of that, would you say that with the coordination of the seven police forces that we saw in Ottawa, you would have been able to resolve the crisis with the traditional tools, existing laws and powers granted by municipal and provincial governments, without necessarily resorting to the Emergencies Act?