Public Safety committee  In the past, when there have been issues of espionage in Canada, we have used the security certificate provisions to seek the removal of those individuals. I'm thinking of Russian spy cases. So there are limited uses of our current legal framework to manage that, but it is very s

Public Safety committee  Maybe I can add a little bit more to that. Part of the reason it's drafted this way is that, if we go back to the Federal Court of Appeal decision, we see the court made it clear—and this is again following up from what Mr. Coulombe just said—that it would have the jurisdiction t

Public Safety committee  It's in proposed section 8 of the proposed act. It's individuals where we have a “reasonable grounds to suspect”, “engage or attempt to engage”, or “threaten transportation security”, or they're travelling by air for the purpose of committing certain terrorism offences. That'

Public Safety committee  Yes, it's under the definitions of the Criminal Code dealing with those specific terrorism offences.

Public Safety committee  Well, if there is reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual is engaging in activity to threaten transportation security, that could still be encompassed in proposed paragraph 8(1)(a).

Public Safety committee  In the current situation, if an individual has been denied boarding they're notified. Then they're given an opportunity to provide additional information. The minister does provide an unclassified summary of the reasons why that individual has been denied boarding. After that per

Public Safety committee  Do you want the view from a Justice perspective...? We obviously believe there is a necessity to do it, and that's why we're doing it.

Public Safety committee  That's correct.

Public Safety committee  Maybe I could add that the departments and agencies that would be engaged in investigating individuals and putting forward information for either revocation or cancellation would be CSIS and the RCMP. We would be relying on their mandates. In the case of CSIS, they investigate th

Public Safety committee  The definition of threats to the security of Canada in the CSIS Act goes beyond terrorism, if that's what you're alluding to.

Public Safety committee  It's an order in council.

Public Safety committee  I think it's fair to say that national security is never defined with full elaboration in any of these statutes. It's mentioned, and in many cases it's up to the judge to determine whether something could be injurious to national security. That's a phrase that's commonly seen in

Public Safety committee  Ultimately, If it goes to an appeal before the court or a judicial review, it will be the judge who will be balancing all these considerations.

Public Safety committee  That is correct.

Public Safety committee  I can start, and Sophie can finish. The proportionality is that you're looking at the action that government is taking, which is the taking of the passport, and weighing it against what injury it might give, what harm to the individual, and then ultimately balancing those agains