Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator, I think the one part I wanted to focus on—as my colleagues have—is the regulations section of this bill and specifically clause 11. Now, subclause 11(1) is very easy to understand, but on subclause 11(2), I had some questions about the wording, because it says:
Before prescribing an age verification method under subsection (1), the Governor in Council must consider whether the method
Then you have points (a) through to (e). I question the choice of the wording “must consider”, because that seems to give the government a way out, like, “Oh, we considered these five points”. Wouldn't it be stronger to say something like “the Governor in Council must verify that it is reliable, that it maintains privacy, that it collects and uses personal information solely for age verification”?
For me as a parent looking at this, if I actually had wording in the bill that the Governor in Council must do this rather than consider it.... Do you see where some people might have concerns? The language in the bill might be giving the government a way out. Yes, it has to consider it, but it doesn't have to verify that it's actually in place.