Public Safety Committee on Feb. 12th, 2026

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

They're still serving?

[Brian Sauvé]

It's a combination of both. You can be a serving member in receipt of a disability pension. For example, I might be in a foot pursuit, jump off a set of stairs and break my ankle. I make a full recovery, but now my ankle gets really sore in the cold. Even though I'm fully operational, I can have a disability pension award for that sore ankle, which carries on into retirement.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you for the clarification on that.

I'm just kind of pivoting to something else and calling on your experience to speak to recruitment and retention in the RCMP.

We've heard discussions about the 1,000 officers getting hired. In my community, I speak with RCMP officers who have served a long time. In their minds, there has to be a better job done of recruitment and retention because it's an aging police force, just like an aging population. Do you have any suggestions for government along that line?

[Brian Sauvé]

It's funny—you're almost taking words out of my mouth for the next discussion I'm going to have with the commissioner. Demographically speaking, from about 2006 to 2008, the RCMP went on a very similar recruiting push in which there were two troops a week, in some instances, graduating from Depot. If you do the math, that's 20 to 21 years ago, and the life of a police officer in the RCMP now is about 27 years, give or take. Are we thinking about two troops a week retiring in six to seven years or five to six years, and what is that going to do to our attrition in the future? We still need to keep our foot on the gas pedal, if you will, over the next decade in recruitment so that we can impact what might come in the way of attrition.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Another point I've come across is that there are a lot of challenges in policing when they go to a mental health issue in a first nations environment. We've had some success in having first nations police officers working with the RCMP. Obviously, you see benefit in that. We have to do a better job of recruiting first nations officers to work in their communities.

[Brian Sauvé]

We do. I would encourage the government to expedite or restart its review of the first nations indigenous policing program to make those services an essential service, which would allow them consistency in recruiting and predictability in budgets, which would allow for sustained staffing levels and the ability to integrate with other police services and jurisdictions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you, MP MacDonald.

Thank you, Mr. Sauvé, for this presentation and for all the work you put into it.

We will meet again on February 24 to resume our work on Bill C‑8. Until then, I wish you a good week in your ridings.

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, do you wish to speak?

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon, QC]

Mr. Chair, I have a quick question about next steps regarding our recommendations. How will we share them with the finance committee? We had set a deadline for sharing our recommendations.

We need to hear from the minister. Has his new appearance been scheduled?

Could you enlighten us on next steps and how we should send everything to the Standing Committee on Finance? When will the Minister of Public Safety appear at committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

That is an excellent question. The answer will disappoint you because I do not yet know exactly how we will proceed. We need to coordinate with the clerk's team and, of course, the minister's team to determine his availability. So we will work with the people around the table to provide you with the answer to this very relevant question.

Thank you, everyone. I wish you a good rest of the day and a good week in your respective ridings.