Senator Gold: Honourable colleague, it is challenging to answer these questions when legitimate questions about what protections are available to citizens are interspersed with statements that are not worthy of a response. However, I will respond.

The Deputy Prime Minister and this government have made clear that the ordinary protections of the law — the Charter and the courts — are in place to deal with allegations or claims that people have been treated unjustly. Indeed, court actions are already under way, which is testament to the democratic accountability of this act, an extraordinarily different act than ones that preceded it.

Furthermore, as the honourable senator knows, the banks have had, for the longest time, internal measures in place to deal with clients whom they suspect may have been participating in illegal activities and implicating their accounts. As I said in response to an earlier question, the government is working closely with financial institutions in these circumstances.

(For text of Delayed Answers, see Appendix.)

(At 3:01 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 9 a.m.)

[Translation]