Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, thank you for joining us to talk about this. I think it's a very important piece of legislation.
This is something that personally I'm very interested in and keen for us to move past the finish line. I think back to my time as a public servant from 2002 to 2006, when Mr. Koops and I worked together. There were a lot of conversations when we were talking about the Anti-terrorism Act review.
One of the bodies that was created at that time was the cross-cultural round table on security. Recommendations by that group at that time were to ensure that there was oversight of the CBSA. Sadly, there was a change in government, and nothing ever came to pass in terms of oversight of the CBSA, so I'm really pleased that we are now moving this forward.
It is undeniable for most members of the Muslim community, Arab Canadians, Sikh Canadians, brown people and Black people, and from my own experience, that we are sometimes treated differently by CBSA. This is a fact that many people have lived, and I think the fact that we are now moving this forward is an important signal. It's taken some time to get there.
I think it would be good for those Canadians to hear directly from you, Minister, about what this is going to mean for them, particularly for Canadians of colour, when they now, as Canadians, arrive back home from their travels.