Madam Speaker, honestly, I am actually a little shocked at the question. Who among us in this chamber would not rather prevent an imminent terrorist act than have to deal with the tragic consequences of that act?
These provisions not only have not been abused but they have not been used except in one case, so obviously law enforcement are using extreme discretion on the use of these provisions. Yes, these provisions are new. They came in, under a previous government, under the Anti-terrorism Act, and they are designed to act in a constitutional manner to prevent some of the most serious terrorist acts that could take place right here on Canadian soil.
I will mention, for the hon. member's benefit, the safeguards to which I referred earlier. There can be no investigative hearing without the consent of the Attorney General. Only a judge of a provincial court or of a superior court can hear a peace officer's application. There would have to be reasonable grounds to believe that a terrorism offence has been or will be committed.
I will not enumerate the rest of the safeguards that I had in my speech, but as the member should be aware from having listened to my speech, there are numerous safeguards in place. The investigative hearings have been considered by the Supreme Court of Canada and held to be constitutional. When we have to weigh bringing in legislation like this against protecting Canadians from an imminent terrorist act, we have to take steps to protect Canadians.