Hon. Frances Lankin: Honourable senators, in respect of the limited amount of time, I will put what might have been a question and supplementary together.

Senator Batters, I am inclined to agree with the analysis you put forward, but I wasn’t there at committee. One part of our job, particularly when an amendment comes at third reading — which is kosher; there’s nothing wrong with that — is to understand both sides of the arguments. To the best of your ability, would you articulate the arguments against your amendment? As we know, the committee rejected it. What did the senators who discussed this have to say? Why were they critical of it? And what witnesses came forward who took a position opposite to you and what did they say? Thank you very much.

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Lankin, before you begin, it is almost five o’clock. At five o’clock, I’m obliged to leave the chair for the Senate to form Committee of the Whole. Perhaps you could wait until we return after Committee of the Whole. We’re about 30 seconds away.

Senator Lankin: If you keep talking, Your Honour, we will not have that problem. I’m absolutely fine with that.

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you, Senator Lankin.

Senator Batters: Thank you, Senator Lankin. I actually tried to deal with a few of those types of issues in my very speech, because I knew that might come up. Probably the main thing was, well, judges don’t have to agree to it; they can simply not agree to it.

My position on that, as I stated in my speech, is that, first of all, there may seem like no particular reason not to have a trial by video until it is actually going ahead. And it is only afterwards, as I’ve shown in those particular examples with the research that was done in those other countries, that we see the very dire circumstances that can result.

Also, sometimes, particularly with video, you freeze. You might be the accused sitting at your screen at home, and don’t even realize that you are not being well articulated, and you don’t even find out that a crucial part of your testimony has been missed until after the fact, and it is then too late.

Hon. Frances Lankin: Honourable senators, in respect of the limited amount of time, I will put what might have been a question and supplementary together.

Senator Batters, I am inclined to agree with the analysis you put forward, but I wasn’t there at committee. One part of our job, particularly when an amendment comes at third reading — which is kosher; there’s nothing wrong with that — is to understand both sides of the arguments. To the best of your ability, would you articulate the arguments against your amendment? As we know, the committee rejected it. What did the senators who discussed this have to say? Why were they critical of it? And what witnesses came forward who took a position opposite to you and what did they say? Thank you very much.