Evidence of meeting #29 for Public Safety and National Security in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rcmp.
A video is available from Parliament.
Commr Michael Duheme
If it's related strictly to PTSD, I don't have that number with me, unfortunately. I'd be more than happy to come back to the committee with a number.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Could you do that? I'd also like the total figure related to stress leave. PTSD might just be one form of stress. I don't know if you know this, but my understanding is that the numbers have drastically increased in recent years. Is this true?
Commr Michael Duheme
Again, not knowing the numbers and what we saw....
Going out on a limb, I would dare to venture that it probably did increase because of the environment in which our men and women operate on a daily basis. Police work on the front line has changed drastically over the last five or 10 years. I wouldn't be surprised if we have seen an increase in that.
I would be more than happy to return with the right numbers.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
You said that things have changed. You insinuated that things have gotten worse, but I think the minister said that crime in Canada has actually gone down. How has it been worse for police officers?
Commr Michael Duheme
What we're facing now is different from what we faced 10 years ago. When it comes to law enforcement, the respect no longer exists. Look at, for example, the theft of vehicles and how that is being done. It's something we've never seen before. The dynamic in our environment is challenging.
Sir, we respond to three million calls a year, and 99.9% of them are resolved by the officers' presence and just verbal communication. That 0.1% is where use of force at different levels is involved.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Are you saying that society has changed? Is there more criticism of police and more disrespecting of police, and has that made it harder to recruit and keep police officers?
Commr Michael Duheme
I would say that the pendulum is swinging back towards an interest.... If you look at last year, we had just above 20,000 people apply to the organization. Right now, we figure we're going to close the year off at roughly the same number—around the 20,000 mark—which signals to me that there's a strong appetite to join a great organization and do police work.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
We also talked a fair bit about the IRGC. A colleague from my own party here knows more about this, perhaps, than any of you. My understanding is that military service is mandatory in Iran. You don't have a choice, when you're drafted into the military, as to where you go, so some people may have ended up in the IRGC despite the fact that they don't believe in the methods, philosophy or actions of the IRGC.
We've heard a lot about throwing them out. Are there any provisions that account for the fact that some people may not have been voluntary members?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
I let the question go on, but as you may have noticed, the votes have been called. According to our regulations, we should adjourn, unless there is unanimous consent to continue.
Do you want to hear the answer?
President, Canada Border Services Agency
That is such an important question.
CBSA doesn't just declare people members of the regime or members of the IRGC. We have to prove it. Designating the regime renders everybody in the top half, the executive, inadmissible. The IRGC, by nature of its organization, renders everybody who has served in it inadmissible.
To your point, CBSA has to prove this before the IRB in order for the individual to be declared formally inadmissible and be removed. Consideration about coercion to serve is material in those cases.
CBSA deploys its resources to those at the upper echelons, we'll say. I don't want to say we won't have more junior people. We really try to focus the cases we make and the research we're doing, having regard for the mandatory military service you talked about. The regime is not entirely nuanced if you're a member, but it's at the IRB where those issues can be brought forward.
When you look at the priorities of the CBSA, junior members who served a minimum amount of time may find themselves less of a priority for CBSA officers than somebody who is senior in the regime.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jean-Yves Duclos
Very good.
I sincerely thank all the senior officials who were with us today.
For the MPs, the committee meeting on March 26 will focus on the study of port clearance practices. We will then return on April 14 for the next meeting.
The meeting is adjourned.