Mr. Speaker, on May 6, Superintendent Ben Soave, who has had a long and brilliant career with the RCMP, was awarded the Order of the Italian Republic and named a Knight Officer of the Order of Merit, an order similar to the Order of Canada, by the Consul General of Italy.
Superintendent Ben Soave heads the Toronto based Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. This unit is made up of provincial and federal police forces, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario.
Under Superintendent Soave's leadership, this unit was responsible for the arrest of some of the world's most notorious criminals. In June 1998 project Omertà dealt a significant blow to one of the largest and most established drug smuggling and money laundering organizations in the world.
Today the government is honoured to recognize the award bestowed upon Superintendent Soave.