Mr. Chair, we cannot talk about the law enforcement role of the RCMP in Canada without mentioning the closing of the nine RCMP detachments in Quebec. Like a number of hon. members, I believe that the closing of these detachments will reduce the RCMP's ability to enforce the law in those communities, since these closures will create a void.
Since I first arrived on Parliament Hill, in September, I have personally attended four meetings with the RCMP, including three with the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. However, none of these meetings had the expected effect, namely the reopening of the detachments. No alternative was suggested and there was not even a glimmer of hope. The government's decision not to put off the closure of the RCMP detachments in nine municipalities of Quebec has made the mayors and residents of those communities quite angry with the government.
The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is as receptive as an oyster. And based on the representations made by the Bloc Québécois since the announcement, I can only conclude that the minister thinks that affected communities have the ability to protect themselves by just closing up, like oysters. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I would love to see the minister come to explain her decision to seniors in my riding. These people no longer feel adequately protected and I understand them.
The spokesperson for the mayors' coalition, Guy Racine, told us that the RCMP's withdrawal from their communities is a serious threat to the safety of the affected populations and opens the door to more crime.
I would like hon. members to pay close attention to the following. In its 2004 annual report on organized crime in Canada, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada states the following, and I quote:
Illicit drug activities fuel violence unlike any other criminal activity. There are socio-economic costs associated with the illicit drug trade such as property crimes, assaults and homicides.
We can already see that the RCMP's absence from the field will have harmful consequences on the safety of neighbouring communities.
The same report stresses that “organized criminals will exploit less controlled areas”. It is noteworthy that the Executive Committee of the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, or CISC, is chaired by none other than the RCMP Commissioner himself. How can he approve such a report and maintain his decision to close nine detachments? What credibility will he have now in defending these closures?
The closure of the RCMP detachment in Granby represents a terrible loss for the community, because in the absence of a strong police presence, criminals and organized crime have a free hand. The government is giving up the war on marijuana grow ops, drug trafficking, contraband alcohol, biker gangs and terrorism, while at the same time weakening the enforcement of numerous federal laws.
People pay municipal taxes for their local police services, income tax to Quebec for the Sûreté du Québec and to the federal government for the RCMP. Yet the RCMP is moving out without consulting the public or transferring any resources for the local police to take over their operations. Will the municipality have to levy higher taxes to hire more officers to take over?
Commissioner Zaccardelli's decision is contrary to the mayors' requests and it totally ignores the recommendations made by the members of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, as well as the motions moved by my political party.
But the commissioner said the following:
I want to reassure all of you today that the RCMP is committed to delivering its mandate and to providing all Canadians with safe and secure communities. In Quebec, as in Ontario, our mandate is to provide federal policing services—
Let us talk about Ontario, where the same thing happened in the late 1990s.
During discussions with some of the police forces affected, I learned that there had been no prior consultations, just as there had been none in Quebec. The RCMP closed down its Timmins, Ontario, detachment and those in neighbouring communities. At that time, Commissioner Zaccardelli assured the mayors of the affected communities that regional detachments would still provide service via satellite offices. According to the Timmins police chief, Richard Lapierre, these promised services never materialized.
How can we think things will be any different in Quebec? Do you think that the RCMP will keep its promises any better there? It is using the same strategy and the same arguments, that is, centralizing resources so as to better fight organized crime.
Yet Statistics Canada data clearly demonstrate that the crime rate has, generally, risen significantly after the RCMP have been withdrawn for purposes of centralization. Let us take the example of Peterborough/Lakefield, where it is reported that violent crime increased 37%, property crime 5%, and Criminal Code offences by 16% between 1996 and 2001, despite a very small population increase of 4%. As well, there was a 22% increase in the number of Criminal Code offences between 2000 and 2001.
The commissioner can insist that public safety will not be affected, but statistics on the redeployment of resources in Ontario prove otherwise. The commissioner has turned a deaf ear to the demands of mayors and parliamentarians. He is the only one who believes this, other than his colleague Bourduas in "C" Division in Quebec. The experience in Ontario should instead encourage the commissioner and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to suspend this decision, which is harmful the public, all the more so since these same communities are generally located along the borders.
On December 9, Commissioner Zacardelli stated that, even though the RCMP has the mandate to patrol unguarded border roads, it does not have the necessary resources to maintain detachments. If it has the mandate but not the resources, who is ensuring border security? We now know, denounced by its union, the border services agency no longer has the resources needed to ensure border security. Border officers alone are on the job, without any protection or means of defence.
One incident that drew my attention to the situation at the border occurred just before the holidays when agents counted at least 17 vehicles illegally crossing the border. However, this is one of the most highly staffed border crossings in Quebec. There are approximately 50 officers working at any time at Lacolle, but this did not stop these vehicles from illegally crossing the border, none of which was intercepted despite being reported. One of them was even a bus. What was it carrying? Weapons? Terrorists? We do not know.
How can the minister keep repeating her confidence in this controversial but very problematic decision for public safety?