Public Safety committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the opportunity, even as late in the day as it came, to appear before this committee as it studies this important legislation. I am delighted to be here on behalf of Canadian Jewish Congress, which for over 90 years now has been th

Public Safety committee  Thank you for your questions, Mr. Holland. I think that it would certainly be in the best interests of the country to have those recommendations examined carefully and the ones that are deemed to be effective implemented, but I don't see that as a necessary first step towards ma

Public Safety committee  I think the second part of your formulation is probably something we'd be more sympathetic toward. Obviously the impact on the lives of the individuals you have mentioned is not something we take lightly, but it seems to me that having these powers in place did not necessarily me

Public Safety committee  Yes, of course.

Public Safety committee  The fundamental thing that we're concerned about, aside from the possible risks to the safety and security of Israel, is the development of rogue regimes in thrall to Iran. We've seen the results of that through their proxies in that region and through their state sponsorship of

Public Safety committee  The absence of this authority for the last three or four years doesn't mean that it's not something that the security and police forces should have. You could easily make the argument that—

Public Safety committee  I think the thing to keep in mind is that these powers are necessary to interdict activity before it happens. There are, as has been stated, powers that do permit that, but these powers I think will provide extra authority to make sure that these kinds of activities don't happen.

Public Safety committee  Just let me finish my thought.

Public Safety committee  I would not want to sit here and say that these powers are not necessary and look back later on a catastrophic security failure because of the absence of these powers that led to the blowing up of a synagogue or a Jewish day school full of children.

Public Safety committee  But the fact is that—

Public Safety committee  These powers have been on the books—

Public Safety committee  No. You are right.

Public Safety committee  Yes.

Public Safety committee  Either it's charter-proof or it's not. You can't be a little bit pregnant. It's been proven to be charter-proof, yes.

Public Safety committee  Could I just make one comment on that?