Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talked about realities. I would like to talk about realities as well.
Reality number one is that, yes, smuggling is against the law. Reality number two is that when people break the law, law enforcement should ensure that they are caught and punished. Reality number three is that in recent months it has been clearly identified that 70 per cent of the cigarette smuggling was occurring on the Mohawk reserves. Reality number four is that the previous government failed to act on this smuggling. Reality number five is that the current government has failed to enforce the law that would curtail this smuggling as well.
The reality is that for whatever reason the government has tied the hands of our law enforcement agencies, for political correctness perhaps, maybe for other hidden political agendas. The fact is that the RCMP has not been allowed to enforce the law, which is what it is supposed to do.
Another sad reality is that the government has failed to do the right thing: enforce the laws of the country. It has chosen instead to do something totally opposite, to disregard the fact that there are law breakers that have to be stopped. It has chosen to lower the price of cigarettes. That is a far cry from enforcing the law.
In reality I can imagine criminals on seeing a precedent set like this, saying: "Okay, let's look for the next one and see if we can get them to move away from law enforcement".