That's exactly right. There's no double jeopardy aspect of it. If you're early in the investigation, as opposed to much further down the line when you're actually looking for more than the content, then you want to be able to use this tool instead of having to wait and try to find a bunch of other information. Basically, when you run out of other roads, you'll then go into the MLAT process, and it's a much bigger production. Is that a fair way to describe it?
I can understand why the desire is there.
Before I ask my next question, I want to go back to understanding why it's so important for Canadians to understand the trade-offs that we're making in this process. The exchange that we just had was so helpful. I hope it's been helpful to some of my colleagues who've been interested in this issue and have been chatting about it. We've been chatting about it a lot in the lobbies, behind the curtains and in the hallways. You've helped me understand that it's a much more limited tool, even though it's couched in the international process. It's not even a mini-MLAT. It's kind of apples and oranges.
The reason it's so important for Canadians to understand the trade-offs being made is.... As you know, it's very rare that the debate is really about whether law enforcement should be able to investigate a crime. I think everybody wants law enforcement to be able to investigate crimes, and everyone agrees that they should. Where we need to figure out how to draw the line is between public safety and privacy. How much evidence should you have in your possession? How much evidence should be required before the state gains access to increasingly revealing digital information? The fact that digital information is so revealing is what sits behind Spencer.
When the legislators choose this threshold, do you think you're expanding through this? What would the standard be? I'm trying to get at whether we're actually expanding the investigative power here. Is the standard for this non-MLAT process different from the standard that would exist if you were going through a full-blown application under an MLAT?