Madam Speaker, having spent nearly two decades on the front lines of countering terrorism, I can tell the member with great confidence that the greatest responsibility of law enforcement in this country, and every law enforcement official would agree with me, is upholding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the highest law in this country.
The member said that there was no court decision that informed the government's action, but I would quite respectfully disagree. Two Supreme Court decisions made it very clear, not regarding the actions that took place in Afghanistan but in response to the violation of a Canadian citizen's rights under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The payment was in respect of the violation of those rights, not for the individual's activities in Afghanistan.
I would simply remind the member that in the defence of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms—all of our rights, all of our freedoms—the least of us deserves the protection of that charter as much as the best of us. Therefore, it is in the best interests of all Canadians to uphold that charter and to respect its tenets to ensure that we all receive its protection.