The RCMP polices approximately 630 aboriginal communities in Canada, on reserve, off reserve. In my experience, the best way to meet the needs of the citizens of the community is for the RCMP to recruit aboriginal people to be members of the RCMP. Our commissioner has set high targets for recruitment. Currently, 8% of the RCMP staff is aboriginal.
We are careful in choosing the officers that police aboriginal communities. In my experience, having the right officer police communities is key. These officers need to be able to talk about some of the challenges that go beyond policing issues. They are often rooted in social issues that sometimes result in criminal justice issues downstream.
As we're talking about the national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, I can tell you that we've been hearing a lot of root-cause concerns that have a downstream effect on policing.