Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a couple of points.
First, the legislation indicates that the advocate's role of course is to protect the interests of the permanent resident or foreign national. The special advocate, which did not exist before but would exist now, could challenge the minister's claim that disclosure of information or other evidence would be injurious to national security or would endanger the safety of any person.
Would the member agree that in some cases the release of information may be injurious to national security or may endanger the safety of persons? Does he not envision that happening at any time?
Second, a special advocate may make oral representations or written submissions with respect to the information or other evidence provided. He may participate and cross-examine witnesses who testify during any part of the proceeding. He may exercise, with the judge's discretion, any other powers that are necessary to protect the interests of the permanent resident or foreign national. Those are the kinds of things the special advocate can do: cross-examination, testing the evidence, and weighing the relevance.
Would the member agree with me that the special advocate did not exist in the previous legislation, that it now exists and it provides a series of things that the advocate may do to protect the interests of the foreign national that did not exist before? Would he not agree with me that those, would have to be better than what was before, to a considerable degree?