Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. I know he has a personal interest in such matters.
The short, flippant answer to what is going on in the government's mind would be, not very much. However, to delve into this situation and to put it into perspective, the cadet training college has been closed for upwards of four months now. Yes, that may be a short term saving for the government in terms of its bottom line which, as we know, is what is driving the finance minister these days. However, the bottom line is also that the short term gain is going to result in very long term pain.
As the hon. member has pointed out, much like the nursing shortage that is going to emerge in this country in years hence, the same could be said of policing.
The RCMP is a very proud institution with a great deal of history, but officers need proper training. Even with the reopening of the facility, there is talk about shortening the actual training period.
This comes down to a very shocking decision with respect to priorities on the part of the current government. Why it would do so is beyond me. Most individuals with whom I have talked in the policing community or in law enforcement find that this is simply a staggeringly shortsighted decision.
I commend the government for at least having recognized that it was a mistake in the first place and for reopening it; however, I cannot help but make the analogy with the current budget. The government is basically coming in the back door, taking out the furniture and the television, and wheeling an old rocking chair in the front door. It is taking out more than there was in the system in the first place.
I thank the hon. member for the question. I hope that greater emphasis and greater priority will be placed on criminal justice and on the training of officers so that in the years and months to come we will have a sufficient police force, a sufficient pool of trained officers to draw from so that Canadian communities will once again receive and enjoy a level of protection. There is a thin red line of protection—and I use red because we are talking about police scarlet letters—that exists between the policing community and the community itself, and the protection which it has come to respect and deserve from the criminal element.