Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I don't have all that much time to debate, Mr. Trudell, but we had some statistics the other day about murders: 104 in 2006, 74 of which were first-degree. I guess your argument is that it's going to take a lot of extra resources to go for first-degree when on the basis of the facts the result may be a second-degree conviction. But it is my experience--and the police will probably back this up--that prosecutors and police forces will make that decision based on the difficulty of the case, and it is an extra prize, if you will, that prosecutors and police will I think make the decision on a case-by-case basis.
I want to let the fellow maritimer sitting down there have some time. He's absolutely correct that Halifax has changed in character. I was a university student there, and some of my classmates--not me, of course--would roam the streets late at night without any worry whatsoever, but it's changed. Its complexity has changed. Gang members from North Preston roam the Maritimes.
I guess what I'm asking you from a law enforcement point of view, Chief, is whether you think there are enough tools in your satchel. I'll be specific. Right now you can get permission to have wiretaps for a period of one year at a time. My information is that it doesn't seem to be being used all that often. Prosecutors are reluctant to go for the full year to wiretap and intercept.
The second question I have is along the lines of the evidence given by Staff Sergeant Renwick with respect to the expert witness designation. They've had some success here in various courts, I suppose, in getting the designation. Have members of your force--a member of the RCMP, JFO, or whatever--been designated as experts on a criminal organization, in the courts in Nova Scotia? Is it easy to get? Are those some of your difficulties?