Mr. Speaker, the federal government has made a pledge to ensure that Canadians will continue to feel secure in their homes and on their streets. Ensuring public safety is at the heart of this government's mandate.
Having recently been appointed Solicitor General of Canada, I want to build on the first annual statement made last year and reaffirm the government's commitment to combat organized crime as the key part of our public safety agenda.
Organized crime is a serious and growing concern. It is big business and it is a national problem that threatens public safety.
Earlier this year my predecessor released key results of an independent study on the impact of organized crime. The study assessed organized crime activity like money laundering, illegal drugs, economic crime, people smuggling, contraband smuggling and motor vehicle theft.
The study confirmed that organized crime has an impact that goes far beyond the obvious violence and economic loss we suffer as a society and individually. It affects the health and safety of all Canadians. It has a devastating impact on our communities, our families and those most vulnerable like the elderly and youth.
Organized crime is an issue that is and should be a concern for all Canadians. A recent poll shows that nine out of ten Canadians consider organized crime to be a serious problem. This tells us our priorities lie in a co-ordinated strategy to effectively fight organized crime together.
The national workshop on organized crime last April was a major step toward achieving this objective.
I would like to thank the policing and law enforcement community, the provinces and territories, federal government departments and others that participated in this event. We are building on their advice and expertise.
Working with all these partners, we have identified a number of shared priorities, combating drug abuse and the illicit drug trade, addressing high tech crime, fraud and other economic crimes, and reinvesting our national police services for an integrated national public safety network.
Organized crime is an issue that spans our nation and transcends our borders. No one jurisdiction can effectively act alone. Organized crime has no borders; it does not respect them. At the international level we have been working very actively with our partners. Over the past year we have expanded co-operation with the United States through the Canada-United States cross border crime forum.
In October federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice recognized that organized crime was a serious and growing problem. Their discussion resulted in the first ever joint statement on organized crime which set out eight shared principles of action. The statement reinforced Canada's commitment to working together in partnership to combat organized crime. I am pleased that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police strongly and publicly supported the joint statement. I am confident we are on the right track, but we need to step up our fight.
The federal government is taking action. Our next move will be to help take the profit out of organized crime. Early in the new year the government will introduce legislation to curb money laundering. These measures will provide new and powerful tools for law enforcement in addition to helping us work with our international partners.
I am encouraged by the recent initiatives to combat organized crime that have been undertaken by a number of provinces. I also recognize the work of the RCMP and other agencies in my ministry; federal departments such as justice, revenue, citizenship and immigration; and other police forces and agencies that continue to target resources to fight organized crime in a more co-ordinated and focused fashion.
My ministry and our partners are fully committed to doing what it takes to stamp out organized crime. I look forward to working with CACP, police across the country, and the provinces and territories in my new capacity as solicitor general. Together we will work to ensure Canadians continue to enjoy a level of safety and security that is unparalleled in the world.