Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to the motion put before the House by the hon. member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
I am sure that the hon. member's motion is prompted by concern for the welfare and well-being of the membership of the RCMP-a concern that I can assure him I and our government share.
We are only too aware of the RCMP's crucial role as Canada's national police service and of the need to support RCMP members in their professional duties and to ensure their personal welfare.
For example, the government recently introduced Bill C-52 in this House. This amendment to the RCMP Superannuation Act will ensure that RCMP members serving outside Canada in "special duty areas" are automatically considered to be on duty 24 hours a day, and therefore will receive complete benefit coverage.
The government introduced this bill because it realizes that RCMP members serving their country in a peacekeeping mission, in hazardous areas, should not have to worry about their own or their families' well-being. This is an example of the kind of practical and meaningful action this government is taking on behalf of the women and men of the RCMP.
Through various initiatives, our government is committed to improving the safety and security of Canadians, and, at the same time, to helping the police, including the RCMP, do a better job. We want to ensure that the police have the tools they need to carry out their professional duties.
Let me give you a few examples. We have instituted tougher measures for sex offenders who victimize children. We have created a national system for screening applicants for paid or volunteer positions where, once again, work with children is involved. We have amended the Young Offenders Act to provide for tougher sentences. We have reformed the sentencing process to
ensure more consistency and to give greater emphasis to public safety and the needs of victims.
The safety and security of Canadians has been a priority of the government since it took office. I have given but a very few examples of its initiatives. However some people, such as the hon. member ask the question: Why has the government not made the unionization of the RCMP a priority? It is a fair question.
The RCMP is our national police service and as such it operates national programs that are used by other law enforcement agencies and police forces in every part of the country. These are special services that no other police service in Canada can provide.
I will give some examples as the member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve asked me to do. The RCMP maintains the national crime computers, including the Canadian Police Information Centre that feeds into most other police forces and patrol cars in Canada. The RCMP runs the national forensic crime laboratories and provides forensic services, again to police jurisdictions throughout the country.
The RCMP also operates the source witness protection program which can assist other police jurisdictions with the relocation of witnesses and sources throughout Canada. As we all know, Canada is a signatory to a number of international agreements and conventions and our international reputation depends on the RCMP providing never ending protection to embassies and diplomats across Canada.
The RCMP provides protection for prominent people while visiting Canada, visiting heads of state and governments, the Governor General, supreme court justices and even the Parliament Hill area.
The RCMP given its respected international reputation, has also been called on by the United Nations to provide civilian peacekeeping in various locations around the globe including the former Yugoslavia and Haiti.
Clearly, the RCMP is not just any police force. No other agency could provide all the services that I have just mentioned. Without exaggeration, a work action by the RCMP could become a matter of life or death.
We place great importance on the safety of Canadians who rely on the services of the RCMP. That is not to say that the government ignores the rights of the RCMP membership. Far from it. The government realizes that, where a union does not exist to represent federal employees, then there is a special obligation to listen to those employees and to ensure that there is an effective system for addressing workplace issues.
That is why the RCMP has a system of employee representation. This very progressive system is known as the Division Staff Relations Program. The backbone of the Div-Rep program, as it is known, are the 29 representatives elected by regular and civilian members of the RCMP. The Div-Reps regularly meet with division Commanding Officers and also, on a national basis, with the RCMP Commissioner to represent the membership.
The informal nature of the Div-Rep program promotes access to the top management of the RCMP and even to the Solicitor General. If relations were dominated by a formal and legally binding collective agreement, I wonder if this kind of access could still continue.
Many members strongly believe that the co-operative approach which the Div-Rep program offers has been highly effective in advancing the interests of the membership and in finding workable and practical solutions to the members' concerns. For example, the Div-Reps played a key role in securing new regulations which provide better occupational health and safety protection for members.
The Div-Reps can also take credit for the successful constable reclassification initiative which was of particular importance in addressing pay level concerns of newer members. The initiative was successful, in part, because Div-Reps could take advantage of the present flexible system.
The Div-Rep system allows the RCMP and the government to quickly manage resources to meet new pressures and needs. This type of timely response would be more difficult under a locked-in collective agreement. In short, the Div-Rep program works, and has worked for many years, efficiently and effectively.
The motion put before this House by the hon. member is well-intentioned but it does not take into account the fact that the RCMP, in the Div-Rep program, has a proven system of representation. It is not clear why there is a need to tamper with a system that is already working well.
The government will continue, as in the past, to support the RCMP in their duties and work with them to resolve workplace issues and, where possible, to improve working conditions.
But we will bear in mind the unique nature of the Force and their crucial role in maintaining the safety and security of Canadians. It is for these reasons that we cannot support the motion before us.