Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is John Ferguson. I'm the inspector in charge of drugs and integrated organized crime for the province of Manitoba. Joining me today is a colleague, Inspector Robert Bazin, the officer in charge of border integrity. Inspector Bazin will speak more to his background during his presentation.
Before commencing, we would like to thank the committee for inviting us here today and giving us the opportunity to speak about organized crime in Manitoba and the impact it is having on our community. We are hopeful that after our appearance the committee will be better informed on the state of organized crime in Manitoba, is aware of some of the initiatives that have been taken to combat organized crime, and has been alerted to some of the challenges that impact our ability to investigate organized crime.
As the officer in charge of drugs and integrated organized crime, I am specifically responsible for all major RCMP drug investigations in the province of Manitoba and for co-monitoring the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, MIOCTF.