Mr. Chair, my issue here is that we're flagging one issue to the exclusion of a number of other just as--if not more--important issues, such as, as I mentioned earlier, terrorism. We have the legal and illegal carriage of goods and the legal and illegal carriage of individuals into Canada. There are many other issues we have to address if we're going to go down the path of flagging hazardous materials. This is poor legal drafting practice we're engaging in.
I concur with staff. Leave it as it is. We can address this issue within the regulations. We already have other legislation that addresses hazardous materials.
We have placed staff in a very difficult position. At the very last minute, they received a motion, and they're now expected to provide advice on a totally different piece of legislation--hazardous materials. Quite frankly, they should have had notice that this would be coming forward, because that particular legislation is so significant in its scope. And for us to start making these kinds of flagging decisions in a vacuum is unhealthy. I don't think it's going to serve the purpose for which this particular act was brought forward.
So I would encourage Mr. Masse to be patient. Let's deal with it in another way. We can always ask staff to bring back a response to his concerns at a future meeting. They can come back.