Mr. Speaker, I will give a very direct answer. The only people in jeopardy of being charged with anything are RCMP members. They are the only people who are being investigated, examined and whose conduct at the APEC hearing is being questioned. Not one of the students is under any cloud or suspicion of wrongdoing. Not one of them requires legal protection to prevent a charge from occurring.
In a democracy when someone in the law enforcement business is being challenged, accused of wrongdoing or is subject to potential criminal activity or criminal charges down the road, I would have assumed that members opposite would be concerned about protecting their rights. This would happen at any level of policing and I would have thought Reformers of all people would have supported this.
The only rights the opposition wants to protect is its rights to make this an issue that does not exist. The students do not need legal counsel. The RCMP may if the findings of the commission lead to some kind of criminal charge.