Mr. Speaker, I thank the Bloc Quebecois for bringing this very serious motion to the attention of the House.
I should thank the previous speaker from the Liberal Party for her remarks but unfortunately rhetoric is cheap. The hon. member should refer to a news release done by the Minister of National Revenue. He referred to Bill C-18 which provides customs officers with the power to arrest and detain individuals suspected of having committed offences under the criminal code. Unfortunately the minister forgot to include Halifax and Halifax airport and harbour. That is a piecemeal approach.
The government made Clair, St. Stephen and Woodstock in Atlantic Canada part of this initiative but ignored the most important airport in Atlantic Canada and the most important harbour on the seaboard in terms of giving our customs officers the tools and the training with which to work and with which to protect themselves.
Unfortunately a while back the government got rid of the ports police as a cost cutting measure and gave the ports over to local police authorities. The hon. member from Cape Breton said quite clearly that was a mistake. RCMP and law enforcement officers across the country have been cut severely in terms of their resources. Because of that organized crime has had more or less a free hand in the country.
Although the hon. member's rhetoric is very important and although I appreciate her comments, will she be able to convince her government, especially in light of Bill C-18, that there are some serious flaws? Will she encourage the revenue minister to include Halifax airport and the Halifax port in this very important initiative?