Mr. Speaker, hon. members will remember that, yesterday, we talked several times about cigarette smuggling in Quebec and eastern Canada, particularly in Saint-Eustache and in the Mohawk territories of Kanesatake, Kahnewake and Akwesasne.
I would like to point out in this House that the vast majority of the Mohawk people in these territories, as well as Mohawks living elsewhere in Quebec, Ontario and eastern New York, are peaceful people who are also concerned about increased cigarette smuggling and the violence associated with it.
The problem is caused by a small number of smugglers who take advantage of the laxness of police forces, especially the RCMP, in the Cornwall area and the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne.