Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his comments and contributions to this chamber, and for his distinct impersonation of my hon. colleague, the parliamentary secretary to the government leader, in terms of the length of his submission, all extempore, today.
On a more serious note, I am proud to stand in this chamber to participate in this debate on one of the last days that this august chamber will be open for the next decade, and especially on December 6, when we are thinking about the victims of the Montreal massacre and gender violence.
Despite the breadth of the submission made by the member opposite, I will reduce my points to three comments and a specific question.
The first comment is in respect to section 176, which was the provision of the Criminal Code that dealt with offences against clergymen. The member opposite referenced this, and it is an important issue, but he failed to reference that not only did we understand and hear the concerns expressed at committee, but we kept that provision in the code and improved upon it by ensuring that it would not refer to only men who are in positions of religious leadership or one particular religion. In keeping with the multicultural nature of this country, which my friend opposite knows is protected in the charter, we ensured that all religious leaders of all genders are protected.
Second, an important aspect of this bill that was not referenced by the member opposite is that it would create a statutory duty for something that has been done continuously by the Minister of Justice, which is to say that there would be a statutory duty to include a charter statement.
The third point is with respect to admitting private records in the hands of the accused. The member opposite quoted case law copiously, but I would point him to the Darrach decision in 2000—