Mr. Chair, I am going to disagree profoundly with the member for Windsor—Tecumseh when he talks about the need for parliamentarians to be involved in the day to day decisions of the RCMP. In fact, the RCMP Act, which was passed by this Parliament, establishes that the RCMP commissioner has the control and management of the force and all matters connected therewith.
Imagine what it would be like if a committee of the House or the House of Commons itself was involved in the day to day decisions of the RCMP? That is what some members opposite are calling for in terms of the decision by the RCMP to shut down certain detachments in the province of Quebec. In fact, the member has it wrong. It is not a question of resources. The commissioner and the minister have been very clear that the resources and the head count in the province of Quebec are exactly the same before and after these decisions.
If we were to have political interference in the day to day operations of the RCMP, that would be a tragic day for Canada. Is there going to be a single mayor in this country that will go to his or her member of Parliament and say, “The fact that you shut, or are going to shut, that detachment in my town, I think that's a good decision”. Does the member opposite believe that will occur? Of course, it will not.
We know what is motivating these issues. It is local mayors and local communities distressed that a detachment in their area has been closed. The reality is that the RCMP and the commissioner have been very clear that this is actually concentrating resources, bringing together a critical mass, so that they can fight crime and terrorism more effectively.
The small detachments may be a thing of the past. We have to evolve and we have to rely on the RCMP who are on the front lines facing this day in and day out. When the RCMP commissioner says that this will enhance the security of Canadians, how can it be that a group of parliamentarians, who go in and out of these issues maybe every few weeks or few months, could second guess the commissioner of the RCMP and his organization who deal with these matters day in and day out?