Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general has now approved funding for counsel for those complainants appearing before the RCMP public complaints commission who were directly involved in confrontations with police at the APEC leaders meeting held at the University of British Columbia in November 1997. This follows a request by new commission head Ted Hughes based on unique elements in the APEC hearing as they had developed.
The minister's decision was made after receiving representations from several government MPs. It is an exercise in good faith and good constitutionalism.