Canadian Heritage committee  I completely agree with you that restriction does affect discernment in terms of exposure and development of faculties in children. That being said, I think parents have a prerogative to do so. Much as I might want to deny it sometimes, we are all products of our parents, our families, our upbringings, and the societies in which we are raised and what's available to us.

Canadian Heritage committee  In terms of your initial comment, madame, there are differences between violence against women and, I would say, regulating violent content on television. We have over 1,000 members, so we're not all going to agree on how you define civil liberties, but traditionally speaking, civil libertarians believe that state intervention is only necessary when it's to prevent harm.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me to comment on your initial point.

Canadian Heritage committee  The association's position on this, Mr. Scott, is that we don't believe it should be the role of the state to regulate what is available for individuals to watch. It should be up to individuals to decide whether they want access to something, whether it's through payment or self-regulation by means of a V-chip.

Canadian Heritage committee  If the goals are to bring a better balance, then there should be guidelines along with this bill stating that the purpose of this is a better balance and availability of programming. That's not the case. It's a general, broad, vague law that just says they shall have the power to make these regulations, which is very dangerous.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good afternoon. My name is Catherine Wong, and I'm an articled student at the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. The BCCLA was formed in 1963 and is Canada's most active advocate defending civil liberties and democratic freedoms. The association has a long history of providing input to government and the courts on matters of vital importance to civil liberties in Canada.