Thank you.
I think a lot of the thought that went into the original policy decision to arm border guards went to the issue of the evolving environment in which they work, speaking from a law enforcement point of view or from a national security point of view. I think that increasingly the officers who work at the border see the evolution of their role from a tax collector twenty years ago to more of a law enforcement officer today--not a policeman, I recognize, but a law enforcement officer.
I think the prevalence of criminality that has grown in border locations does go to the issue of why a decision was taken to arm the guards. And there have indeed been instances--I think the minister referred to one--where because there were armed and dangerous lookouts that were known to officers, they decided under Labour Canada rules to withdraw their services because they felt their health and safety was in danger, and that was completely within their rights.
Yes, obviously there are ancillary costs that would go to calling in other police forces. There are questions of response time that it would take for those other police forces to get to the border. Those I think all have to go into the reckoning as to whether or not this is an effective policy decision. I believe generally speaking that the evolving environment in which my officers work quite often supports that.