Mr. Chair, I too am very honoured to take part in this debate. I must begin by similarly expressing condolences and heartfelt support for the families of Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston, Brock Myrol and Peter Schiemann, whose names will be engraved on the peace officers memorial behind Centre Block on the last Sunday in September this year. Sadly too many officers' names adorn those memorial plaques.
As was expressed so eloquently by my colleague, the issue now becomes what can we do to ensure that such terrible incidents as we witnessed Mayerthorpe do not happen again. Those Mayerthorpe murders stand as a serious wake-up call to all Canadians.
The entire RCMP family, those who wear the red serge, assembled and were shocked more than anyone that such a thing could happen. There will be a fatality inquiry. There will be some answers forthcoming for the family.
In this place as legislators, what actions can we take? What are the initiatives that we can commence? My colleague is to be commended again for raising the issue and allowing this debate to take place so that we can have this serious discussion.
The shortfall of resources first and foremost has to be noted. In a report that came from internal RCMP documents that were disclosed as a result of the Arar inquiry, a senior officer speaks of realignment, which is interesting language that was used by the minister herself. Realignment really means withdrawal from rural parts of the country and a concentration in perhaps bigger areas.
I want to quote from that report. The officer, speaking from the RCMP anti-terrorist financing group stated, “If the human resource issue is not addressed we run the risk of jeopardizing the safety of Canada and its citizens as well as potentially embarrassing the Government of Canada and the RCMP on the domestic and international levels”. The document goes on to talk about that shortfall and the ramifications.
The government has a lot to be held to account for in the decisions that it has taken. It really comes down to priorities. Although this is a very serious debate and some might try to label it as a partisan one, we in the opposition have a duty. We owe it to Canadians to point out the inadequacies and the decisions that the government has taken that are affecting the lives of Canadians and the life and limb of RCMP officers and others who are tasked with enforcing the law. The priority decisions to take money out of budgets at a critical time, to move officers away from our border for example, which has been pointed out quite recently in reports, jeopardizing the safety of Canadians have to be addressed.
We know it is a priority policy decision taken by the government to withdraw officers, just as it is a policy decision to continue to fund the gun registry that does not adequately protect Canadians, does not give value added to the task of protecting Canadians. The decision to close forensic laboratories delays the disclosure of evidence and delays the production of evidence that is to be used in courtrooms, which oftentimes unnecessarily leads to acquittals.
There are also the issues around the early release of prisoners, as my colleague referred to. Some police in my area back in Pictou County, Nova Scotia call it the catch and release program. They wear little fish hooks with the barbs taken off. This is their feeling of frustration.
The RCMP and all those in the law enforcement community are looking for leadership from the government. They are looking for the necessary tools, resources and technology to do the job that is asked of them. It is life and death for them and for those communities that they protect.
They do so much good work outside their normal policing duties. They are the face of our community. I think of people like John Kennedy who has a wonderful innovative program, Adopt a Library, in Pictou County, Nova Scotia and hopes to make it national. It is meant to encourage literacy. Our police participate in so many levels of society.
The RCMP are such a source of pride for Canadians. It is a symbol of this country, a symbol of virtue, integrity and all that is good about Canada.
We cannot fail them in this hour. We cannot fail them in the wake of the tragedy that took place and which took the lives of those four young dedicated men in their prime.
This important debate hopefully will bring further attention to this issue. We in the Conservative Party hope to move the ball forward on this file. We hope, more importantly, to be in government one day very soon, when we will be able to address these issues in a more substantial way.