Thank you, Chair.
Welcome, gentlemen. Welcome to the committee.
In a study on policing economics, the big elephant in the room here is obviously salaries. You have pointed out that costs have gone from $6 billion to $12 billion over the last decade, with a 40% increase in police salaries.
That has caused a lot of stress in my riding, particularly among a lot of the smaller rural communities. They're having a tough time coping with their policing costs. They are looking at all kinds of ways and means of reducing police costs.
We have some figures here. We're talking about a 40% increase in police officers' salaries compared with 11% for the average Canadian.
Mr. Potter, could you explain to me why there is such a discrepancy between police officers and the rest of Canadians?