Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for his eloquent defence of justice in this country. He has raised a couple of troubling aspects of the bill.
This piece of legislation points to the continuing erosion of democratic rights and civil liberty rights under the current Conservative government. We have seen the firing of any number of heads of public agencies. We have seen people, who do not agree with the Conservative government, such as the recent Veterans Affairs ombudsman not having his contract renewed, and on and on.
The member mentioned Maher Arar and of course that was an absolute travesty of justice when the government did not step up to protect his rights. The current legislation shows a lack of balance between security and fundamental rights. In fact, this piece of legislation would allow for imprisonment of up to 12 months or for the imposition of strict recognizance conditions on individuals who have not been charged with any crime. Could the member comment on this continuing erosion which Canadians consider to be pretty fundamental to who we are as Canadians in terms of civil liberties and our values of justice?