Justice committee  Sections 24.3 or 21.4 of the Criminal Code state that this bill -- no, it's not a bill since it's already been passed into law -- or rather, these sections in no way affect the collection of evidence. The same rules of evidence will apply, whether these powers are used or not.

Justice committee  Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Comartin. I wanted to speak about certain other recommendations concerning increasing protection against abuse. Now, the first two recommendations that I made are going to be among the more important: first, let's narrow the scope of the act, so that it speaks only to instances where it is necessary for police work; and second, let's oblige prior authorization by way of a senior police official, a judge, or perhaps by way of another person.

Justice committee  You're absolutely right. That's why in those cases where the law currently provides for prior authorization and makes exceptions in urgent circumstances, I would wish to maintain those.

Justice committee  The pre-authorization is only for the truances that have to be disclosed in the annual report, namely important damage to property and delegating the authority to break the law to a non-police member, such as an informant. The difficulty I have is that with the exception of these two examples, there is no obligation of prior authorization from anyone.

Justice committee  That's a very good question. I'd like to come back to the recommendation I made in my testimony, which is to amend the law to restrict its application to investigations related to organized crime and undercover operations, as well as several other targeted areas of police activity.

Justice committee  Well, I believe it is within your authority to extend the scope of the law in such a way as to require prior authorization from a judge. But first, there is a need to determine whether such a requirement is necessary and following that, whether it is desirable. Do we really want judges to be involved at that level in police operations related to organized crime, undercover investigations, and so on?

Justice committee  I had a couple of suggestions regarding how to increase protection against potential abuse of these sections that I would be happy to discuss.

Justice committee  Right. I definitely won't question that last conclusion. You had two questions. The first was respecting the public reports and the second respecting the potential difficulties with restraining this solely to organized crime. Let me address each in turn. The public reports, as you may know, don't require the disclosure of every use of these sections.

Justice committee  That's correct. We can look at this section together, and I can pull it up right here. We're looking at “annual report”, section 25.3. We have three areas, paragraphs 25.3(1)(a), (b), and (c), and we have to disclose: (a) the number of designations made under subsection 25.1(6) by the senior officials; That's emergency designations.

Justice committee  In fact, I'm very comforted by the way the RCMP is taking its responsibility under these provisions. I'm suggesting that we should take the example of the RCMP and provide the very guidelines it has provided for itself in the act.

Justice committee  Yes, that's correct. It's in the 2005 Queen's Law Journal, volume 31.

Justice committee  In reference to that question, I have as much information as the average Canadian citizen in that respect. However, I am comforted to know, having reviewed the testimony of the lawyers from the Department of Justice that you had in your first meeting and the testimony of the RCMP members who came to your second meeting, that they both focused on the importance of this law for the purposes of organized crime and undercover operations.

Justice committee  Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.

Justice committee  Perfect. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I would like to begin by thanking the Committee for giving me this opportunity to speak today and for facilitating my testimony through video-conferencing. I am a member of the Ontario Bar, and am currently pursuing a Doctorate in Constitutional Law at Oxford University, as mentioned by the Chair.