Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for your attendance and participation on this important study.
My first question would be to Mr. Michel.
Mr. Michel, I'm the current Conservative shadow minister for justice and the attorney general. I was a former Crown counsel in the province of Ontario for almost two decades. I thank you for what you are doing and for your appearance today.
I had the opportunity of meeting with the Quebec justice minister this past summer, Mr. Jolin-Barrette. I had a frank discussion with him as to what the province would like to see by way of bail reform.
I also had a wonderful presentation by the good folks at the CAVAC Centre in downtown Montreal. I was aware of the vertical prosecution system, the merits behind that, and how that alleviates many of the concerns that victims have in terms of not being believed, not being trusted and not feeling part of the system. Thank you for leading the way in the province of Quebec. It's a model that should be shared across Canada.
I'd like to get your thoughts on Bill C‑14. I understand that you probably had a brief opportunity to take a look at it. It was only introduced last Thursday, and it is specifically on the issue of sexual assault. You must be profoundly disappointed, as I was, when I found out that the provisions for sexual assault in terms of taking away the ability of applying for a conditional sentence only apply when the Crown proceeds by indictment.
If the Crown proceeds by summary conviction, the vast majority of sexual assault prosecutions will proceed by way of summary conviction, at least for the province of Ontario. I trust the province of Quebec is not much different. This government left out a significant pathway to protect victims by now allowing their perpetrators, their offenders, from serving a sentence by way of house arrest.
What are your thoughts, please?