Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak about the throne speech and the important initiatives that are contained therein.
My constituents in Waterloo--Wellington are pleased with the general thrust of the throne speech and understand, as do most Canadians, that it is a good blueprint for future endeavours and for projects that we as a government will be undertaking in the future.
The portfolio of the Solicitor General covers a broad range of programs and initiatives. Our mandate is to protect Canadians and to help maintain a peaceful and safe society. It is dealing with the root causes of crime such as poverty or taking measures to deal with substance abuse. Underpinning all of our efforts is a proactive approach, not a reactive approach, and one that seeks to address problems before they are before us.
I would like to speak to four key areas from the Speech from the Throne and their relation to the work of the portfolio of the Solicitor General. These areas relate to: community crime prevention, our national drug strategy, first nations governance, and national and continental security.
Building healthy communities is an element of the Speech from the Throne and public safety is an essential ingredient to a healthy community. I would go so far as to say that it is a bedrock without which it is impossible to have a healthy community. To promote strong and safe communities we are working with the Department of Justice on the national crime prevention strategy and other things. The strategy seeks to remove personal, social and economic factors that lead some individuals to engage in criminal acts or to become victims of crime.
Since its launch in 1998, the strategy has supported more than 2,200 projects, improving the quality of life in over 600 communities across the country. As we launch projects, the strategy will continue to help those who may be most at risk, for example, children, youth, aboriginal people, women, people with disabilities, homeless people and ethnocultural groups.
In communities across Canada, public safety is being undermined by substance abuse. In the Speech from the Throne, the government pledged to renew our national drug strategy to address addiction and promote public safety. The speech set a direction for progressive measures to deal with this multi-billion dollar problem. Substance abuse is a health problem, a public safety problem, and an economic problem. It can only be overcome by taking a comprehensive, balanced approach through prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. The portfolio of the Solicitor General of Canada supports a drug strategy in all four areas.
Fundamentally, a proactive approach is a cornerstone of any successful substance abuse strategy. To that end, we are looking at innovative ways to strengthen the role of police in prevention and harm reduction. We are offering treatment programs to more than half of the offenders in federal correctional facilities. For example, about 10% of offenders are severely addicted. A high intensity substance abuse program has been developed and is now being tested to treat this group. These are a couple of examples of the many programs that are available to beat the problem of substance abuse, something that is horrific to many people.
More research needs to be undertaken. We need to know how to fine tune our strategy and to determine if we are using the best possible tools. We will continue to support the work of the House of Commons special committee as it reviews Canada's drug strategy and to pursue a balanced approach to combating this serious public health safety issue.
Taking charge of our future is a basic theme in the Speech from the Throne. This applies more aptly to first nations than perhaps any other group. The first nations policing program provides unique and distinctive police services that are professional, community-centred and culturally appropriate to the first nations communities that they serve. We will continue to support first nations police services which are essential to the safety and stability of our aboriginal communities.
Public safety and security is a basic underpinning of a healthy community, and the first nations policing program supports the government's aboriginal agenda by working with those communities to build their capacity for economic and social development and to reduce aboriginal incarceration rates.
The events of September 11 have altered the environment in which we live and in which we operate. Last fall the government moved quickly to develop and implement its anti-terrorism plan, including new legislation and substantial funding. This plan is measured, focused and in balance. It provides authorities with the tools they need to deter, identify, disable, prosecute, convict and punish terrorist groups. It has created a road map to govern our actions over the next five years. We are in the process of putting these measures into action. The government has allocated almost $10 billion to national security over the past two years.
The Speech from the Throne highlighted the importance of agreements such as the smart border declaration, a 30-point action plan to enhance border security and improve the flow of people and commerce across the Canada-U.S. border.
We are working closely with our allies to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians. The portfolio of the Solicitor General is active in a number of law enforcement and security measures under this declaration, perhaps the most significant cooperative security initiative ever undertaken by Canada and the United States.
The Canada-United States cross-border crime forum, a key component of the smart border action plan, exemplifies how two countries can and should co-operate against cross-border crime, terrorism and other emerging threats to our common security and safety.
Other initiatives such as the expanded deployment of integrated border enforcement teams along the entire Canada-U.S. border and the enhancement of our intelligence capabilities by the creation of integrated national security enforcement teams in major urban centres will improve our capacity to respond to threats to the well-being of our nations.
We are equally committed to conducting more counterterrorism training exercises to test our response plans and to further enhance our joint response capabilities. Our next joint exercise is scheduled for May 2003. The portfolio of the Solicitor General is doing its part to help achieve the Canada we want.
I appreciate having the time to explain in broad terms how we have been contributing to building this foundation. It is important to know that our communities are safe and secure and that the government is assisting in that important endeavour to ensure that Canadians feel good about who we are and what we represent.
I know firsthand that constituents in my riding feel strongly that the throne speech has gone a long way to ensuring that this is the case. They know, as do most Canadians, that we are now in a position where Canada can flourish strongly and will continue to do so in the future. The throne speech laid the groundwork to ensure that happens. Canadians recognize that and are appreciative of that. It is our mandate as a government to ensure that carries on in a manner consistent with the great values of this country, and that we will continue to do.