Mr. Speaker, I rise today to help celebrate National Crime Prevention Week and encourage crime prevention at the community level.
My community of the Waterloo region has been a pioneer in this area. In 1993 we founded the Waterloo Regional Community Safety and Crime Prevention Council which served as a base for the National Crime Prevention Council, established by the Liberal government in 1994. In April 1998 we celebrated our 20th justice dinner in the Waterloo region.
Crime hurts people and makes them feel unsafe. It decreases quality of life and changes the face of our communities.
The evidence is conclusive. The most effective way to prevent crime is to ensure healthier children, stronger families, better schools and more cohesive communities.
The results are less violence, safer communities and significant cost savings in the justice system and elsewhere.
I congratulate this government and the Waterloo region for their initiatives in recognizing that crime prevention at the community level is the way to go.