Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting the RCMP to appear before you today.
I am Superintendent Louise Lafrance, director of the national recruiting program of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I joined the RCMP in 1985. Previous to that, l was hired as the first female police officer on a municipal police force in Mont Laurier, Quebec.
With me is Suzanne Babisky, director, executive development and resourcing for the RCMP. She has worked for the RCMP for 30 years.
As you know, we are the largest police force in Canada. We police at the local, provincial, territorial and federal levels and we are active internationally.
We employ a workforce of extremely diversified occupations: police officers, civilian members, public servants, and special constables, totaling more than 30,000 employees. I am proud to say that the proportion of women in the RCMP has increased steadily in the last ten years. In 2000, female police officers made up 14.3%. Today, we number 20%. Female representation continues to grow with each new troop that graduates from our training academy in Regina.
When I joined the RCMP, I was proud to follow the lead of our courageous female pioneers, but we still had a way to go to feel equal to our male colleagues. As a small example of the differences we experienced, l'II never forget the day I was issued my rather unflattering RCMP red serge uniform. I wore it with pride, even though it consisted of a funny round hat, a skirt, a white turtleneck shirt, a red blazer, RCMP-issued nylons--which perfectly matched my Oxford flats--and a small purse to store my handgun, bullets, and handcuffs.