Certainly. As a principle we have been saying that we shouldn't make laws that add to the costs of municipal policing. If we do, then we should make sure they're properly funded. That principle applies just as well to this legislation.
As my colleague said, we support the principle of the legislation. It's been a while coming and we're glad to see it. Our concern is that without sufficient funding available to municipal police services, we won't be able to take full advantage of the program.
It's an important program. In some jurisdictions the provinces have a bit of funding. Ontario does, for example. When that runs out we look to the federal funding.
Our conclusion has been that there needs to be more funding available than currently is the case. Without the availability of sufficient funding, our ability to take advantage of the program will be limited. In places like Toronto, that's a big problem because, as you know, we're dealing with serious violent crimes and often rely on witnesses from the community, not informants and others but witnesses from the community. Their needs may not be significant, as was mentioned. All they may need is a little bit of protection, but that requires that sufficient funding be available for us to be able to do it. That, for us, is a problem.