Mr. Speaker, since my colleague opposite has raised the issue, I would like to tell a quick anecdote.
I was taught by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He gave 15 hours of lectures on Diefenbaker's Canadian Bill of Rights. He concluded that it had had virtually no effect because it did not have constitutional status. He bore that in mind when he created the charter.
I have a great deal of respect for my colleague who just spoke and I would like to ask him another question about a consequence of the charter. Does he think that the charter has deprived Parliament of its decision-making role on major social issues, for example, abortion, euthanasia or the protection of journalistic sources? We expect the courts to rule on these issues whereas, in many democratic countries, the elected representatives of the people debate these major issues.