Justice committee  Thanks for recognizing that. I'm delighted. I think it's an unusual choice of word to be inserted into this part of the code. As I said during my opening remarks, I don't recall seeing language like that in other parts of the Criminal Code. It suggests that something more is r

Justice committee  I think I'd have to say that I don't think this amendment is necessary, for all the reasons I've heard today. I view it as human error. I think we're giving the officer the benefit of the doubt. I appreciate your very surgical argument that it's not human error because there was

Justice committee  No. As I said at the outset, I had no mandate to make an inquiry into why the police officer failed to provide the record to the justice of the peace. I made some inquiries to confirm, to find out if it had been provided, and I concluded on the basis of a transcript, because that

Justice committee  Well, I was quoting that. Those are the exact words. I think it came to me in an email when I was conducting the review, and it was from a prosecutor. I think what he was doing was emphasizing that in many cases the stakes are high. He was generalizing, because they won't all be

Justice committee  Right. I did make that recommendation. I'm agreeing to that.

Justice committee  That's a really good question. My focus, as I said at the outset this afternoon, really wasn't on an examination of the law as it currently stands and how it might be improved. That wasn't part of my mandate. I'll admit that I'm maybe not equipped with the knowledge to answer yo

Justice committee  No, I don't. When I was working, I would often be on the phone to a lot to colleagues in the province, but since I retired, I don't do that so much anymore. I know he gave them six months. I did hear something the other day, which I think was just a rumour, that they're no longer

Justice committee  Yes, that's fair. It would be fair for me to say that's what happened.

Justice committee  I think it's reasonable to anticipate that this new language being added is different. I know I listened to some testimony that might have been given before this committee last week, by, I think it was a crown counsel, who said that every time you make a change as simple as a com

Justice committee  I think it could cause delay until the case law settles. Maybe there won't be a lot of litigation. I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. But I kind of have a feel for it, and my gut is telling me it's reasonable to expect litigation over it. I don't know what else I could

Justice committee  That's a really good question. I'm glad I'm retired from government, because that might create challenges. I think it will really take some impetus, something driving it, some push. The fact that CPIC is outdated has been noted for years and years. I may be wrong on this—I'm at

Justice committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will say just a few words about the Alberta Bail Review before I begin with my submissions. As you know, it was established by the Government of Alberta in 2015, in the wake of the tragic killing earlier that year of Constable David Wynn and the wounding