Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my hon. colleague and I can appreciate his situation. I understand how people can feel abandoned in a situation like this. We are talking about an important resource, because these are people with special expertise in the specific field of safety, as well as in investigation and intervention of a type that is different from those conducted by our other police forces. We need them in the field. Organized crime is also a specialty of theirs. Without them, there is a void, and serious problems might arise.
The idea of a telephone connection is absolutely preposterous. This is nuts. There is no way that an RCMP officer will be able to deal with problems in the Magdalen Islands by phone. We have to be realistic.
It is obvious that not only the detachment in Gaspé must remain open, but also that serious thought ought to be given to reopening the one in the Magdalen Islands. I encourage my hon. colleague to make representations and to continue fighting, as he has in the past, for the detachment in the Magdalen Islands to reopen and, above all, to prevent the one in Gaspé from closing.