Mr. Speaker, again this shows a lack of understanding of the very essence of the court challenges program. This program was created to ensure equal access to justice because lawsuits are expensive.
The member opposite says that even if the program is cancelled people will still have equal access to justice. That is not the case. Some communities need financial assistance to have access to the courts. That is exactly what the court challenges program did: ensure equal access to justice.
The member opposite talked about the consultations conducted by Mr. Lord. Newspaper reports today indicate that he has tabled his report. Let us hope that the government will make it public because invitations to these consultations were limited. One could not attend unless one was invited. The discussions happened behind closed doors and the topics to be discussed were determined by Mr. Lord.
I was told that the issue of the court challenges program was raised in these meetings with Mr. Lord. Will he have the courage to report what he heard and include comments and recommendations regarding the reinstatement of this program in his report? I hope so, but when we are dealing with consultations that may be bogus—we did not see how it was done because, as opposition members, we were not invited to attend—forgive me for being skeptical—