Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to thank you for appearing before the committee today to answer our questions. I would like to discuss the NCPC. You said that prevention is an important factor in the fight against crime. In fact, you came to my riding to announce that Quebec would be receiving millions of dollars for crime prevention, for youth at risk and more specifically for street gangs, which I find quite interesting. However, we don't really see these millions of dollars being put to use, on the ground. I could give you many examples, but because we are short of time, I will mention only two.
First, an application for a project called AIDE was submitted to the NCPC. It is sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from the Université de Montréal as well as by the CSSS in my riding; the application was submitted in June 2006. They came to see me in February or March 2007, because they had not yet received a response. On April 2, 2007, we got in touch with your office, and we were told, around 11:48 a.m., that the project had not been accepted. At 3:56 p.m., we were told that a decision was not quite firm. The next day, we were told that the application had not been turned down, but that it was been studied and that no other information was available. A number of days later, on April 25, we contacted your office, but our call was never returned. Seven days later, someone from your office called to say that the project was still been reviewed, and that there was no indication of what was to come. That is no way to run a program. We really don't know what is happening with this application.
There is also a project, Médiation sociale et communautaire Sainte-Marie, sponsored by the Université de Montréal. The aim is to set up a mediation committee in a specific area where there is low cost housing. This is a high risk neighbourhood where a number of children are practically living in the street. The committee would allow parents and people from the community to find a peaceful solution to their conflicts. It seeks to prevent the creation of street gangs, that, I can assure you, just as project AIDE targets the development and safety of children. So both projects are intended to combat street gangs. That group received its response on March 30, 2007. There was an apology for the delay because the response had been almost one year in coming, since the department had been reviewing subsidy programs, including the MCPC. Then, they were told that their application had been denied because the priority was to reduce the number of high risk neighbourhood, etc. But the project met those requirements. People no longer understand what criteria they are supposed to meet.
I have only given you two examples, but there are a number of other projects waiting your signature before they can go ahead, and before the sponsors can begin working with youth. Meanwhile, teenagers and children are hanging around on the street and are ripe for gang recruiters. Is there an administrative problem or is it that you simply don't believe in prevention?