Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of our witnesses for helping guide our committee through its study of Bill C-21.
Chief Bray, I'd like to start with you. You made comments with regard to the red flag laws, and I know the statement on the CACP website states that you support the red flag law and “its goal to help reduce gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, and self-harm by limiting access to firearms by those who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.”
We've had a lot of testimony on the proposed red flag law, and a lot of groups have problems with some sections in Bill C-21. They are worried that too much of an onus is being placed on a potential victim to go through a lengthy court process when going through the police is preferable.
Are there gaps in our current system that justify us adding this to the Criminal Code? In other words, in what instance is it preferable for someone to go through the courts to make an emergency prohibition order against someone rather than going through the police?