Thank you very much.

It is a pleasure to meet with the committee today to discuss my nomination as director of public prosecutions, or DPP. I want to thank the Attorney General and the selection committee for placing their trust in me and referring my nomination to the committee today.

I'm honoured to be in this home to Canadian democracy that rests on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation and to commit to continue on the journey of reconciliation as a matter of profound respect and thanks for the care the first nations, Métis and Inuit have bestowed on the lands in which we all live together in Canada, and to make a commitment to do what I can, if you give me that opportunity, to contribute to a system of criminal justice built upon a just relationship with the indigenous peoples of Canada.

Allow me to say a few words about myself. I was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, where my mother and father had emigrated after being welcomed by Canada as refugees from the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. My parents came with nothing and instilled in my sister and me the importance and the duty to work hard, the value of family, and the obligation always to help and respect others.

I attended McMaster University and then the law school of the University of Western Ontario, where I worked at the student legal clinic and soon came to learn that law exists to help ordinary people trying to make do and not for the lawyers who are helping them.

After practising civil litigation on Bay Street, I attended the University of Cambridge to complete an LL.M. and determined that my heart was in criminal law.

I was offered a job as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice. I loved and still love being a prosecutor, including in jury trials and appeals before Ontario's Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court of Canada.

When an opportunity arose to work in Ottawa for five months to do Supreme Court of Canada criminal coordination, my wife and three-month-old daughter and I moved here, and during the next 30 years, my wife and I welcomed another daughter. Professionally I worked in the human rights law section, providing advice with respect to amendments to the Criminal Code and the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I also helped draft two incarnations of the criminal organization legislation and the national security legislation that ultimately culminated in the Anti-terrorism Act 2001 after the attacks of September 11.

When the PPSC was created, I joined as one of the two deputy directors and had the opportunity to create the foundations and practices of the new PPSC. Through my time as deputy director, I've been responsible for national security matters and have provided the consent in almost all the cases on behalf of the Attorney General for the 79 prosecutions that have been launched in respect of terrorism offences and the 47 terrorism peace bonds, as well as overseeing the prosecutions that then ensued.

I have always been very involved in handling financial matters and carrying out other management responsibilities. I think it really helped to prepare me for the role of DPP and deputy attorney general of Canada.

The Director of Public Prosecutions Act prescribes the DPP's role when it comes to the management of prosecutions. Responsibility for the operation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, or PPSC, is entrusted to the DPP, who manages the service under and on behalf of the Attorney General. The DPP must have a thorough understanding of criminal law and ensure that the service carries out its duty to the Attorney General and Canadians.

As provided by the DPP Act, the DPP needs to be able to provide clear guidelines to prosecutors regarding their exercise of discretion and allow the Attorney General to be notified of prosecutions that raise issues of general interest in sufficient time for him or her to react if they choose. The exception to this, of course, is with respect to the Canada Elections Act.

As deputy attorney general, the DPP also has to be a good ambassador, playing an important role in educating their provincial counterparts and other participants in the justice system in Canada and abroad.

As deputy head of the PPSC, the DPP has another role that is equally important: managing the service in a fiscally responsible way, while ensuring the well-being of its employees.

In the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, I am privileged to work with people who are dedicated, fair and ethical. These include the persons undertaking vital administrative tasks such as arranging court dates and preparing disclosure to send to the accused, Crown witness coordinators in the north who support victims of violence as they try to navigate the court process, and paralegals, prosecutors and those in corporate services.

I believe I can fulfill the functions of the DPP and look forward to the opportunity, should you permit me, to support and lead everyone who works in the prosecution service as they do their part to help keep Canadians safe and uphold the rule of law and constitutional protections.

Thank you.

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