Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of quotes I would like to read to the House and get a response from the government opposite.
The first quote states:
—the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
Those words come from a Conservative statesman who should be listened to and understood in the context of the question I am about to ask.
The second quote is, “AGITATION is the marshalling of the conscience of a nation, to mold its laws”.
The concern we have, and the concern many in the House have, is that the language about what constitutes terrorism is overly vague and overly broad, while at the same time civilian oversight is missing. The words I just spoke were delivered to Parliament in England by Sir Robert Peel, a Conservative of great note.
Civilian oversight is the cornerstone of democratic and good strong policing. Why does the government not strengthen civilian oversight as it seeks to challenge people's charter rights?