Mr. Chair, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the RCMP and law enforcement. I take special privilege, appreciation and pride for the period of time when I served as solicitor general responsible for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
I had the opportunity to work with all levels of the force: the commissioner, senior management and the rank and file. While as solicitor general one does not get into specific operations as related to investigation and cases, the government through the minister is ultimately responsible for policing and the RCMP in the country.
I expect that it has been mentioned earlier in the debate, but I do want to review the fact that the RCMP is really unique in the world since it is a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body in the country. We provide a total policing service to all Canadians and policing services under contract to 3 territories, 6 provinces, except Quebec and Ontario, and approximately 198 municipalities and, under 172 individual agreements, to 192 first nations communities.
I think all of us can say that when we go to an event and we see the red serge that the RCMP wears, we feel that pride in our hearts.
The RCMP is involved in five strategic priorities, the first one being organized crime and the second being terrorism. In both those areas I think we have made significant progress in recent years. We have set up the integrated border enforcement teams. I have had the opportunity to be at some of those sites. What an integrated border enforcement team really does is integrates the local police forces, both in the United States and Canada, and many of the other organizations that are involved in emergency response. As a result of that integration and really sitting down to develop some understanding between forces, which are often for the wrong reasons competitive with each other, we actually do a better job of policing.
I can say that of the ones that I have been able to visit, and after looking at our standards in Canada through the RCMP and the standards south of the border, we can actually see and feel the respect that there is for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in how they do their job. Their training comes through.
On the terrorism side specifically, we have set up the IBETs and the INSETs, the integrated national security enforcement teams, and they too are doing an exceptional job as they coordinate with all the departments that are involved, with other intelligence agencies across North America and, in some cases, beyond in terms of doing a good job of protecting not only Canada but our neighbour to the south as well.
In terms of working with the youth, which is a fairly major priority of the RCMP, the RCMP go out to schools, where they are so highly respected and trusted, and educate and try to prevent young people from becoming involved in crime. They try to gain some understanding in what this really means.
As well, now through the Department of Public Security, which was previously the solicitor general and the Department of Justice, we have set up the national crime prevention strategy which is also, in many instances, designed to work with youth, whether it is carjacking or whatever, in terms of working at the prevention level to prevent incidents of crime happening.
The RCMP is involved in the international policing perspective which involves the RCMP going elsewhere around the world, working with other police forces in local jurisdictions and in other areas and training them in the techniques and the kinds of policies that we use in this country that will assist them in doing better policing. I was talking to an officer on the weekend in my own community who will be going to Jordan to train the Iraqi police force in terms of doing better policing from their perspective.
As has been mentioned here a number of times this evening, the RCMP works extensively in the aboriginal community in terms of policing in that area. We have aboriginal police officers who understand the community, can work with the community and at the end of the day do a better job of preventing criminal activity from happening and, if necessary, enforce the laws of the land.
We may, if we like, question the laws established by Parliament or we may question the sentencing provisions as imposed by the judges and the courts but we absolutely cannot question the dedication and the efforts made by the rank and file of the RCMP or, in my view, the senior management in carrying out the policies and the laws as established by Parliament.
The area on which I want to take a moment to speak to, based on my experience and my time as solicitor general, is an area in which I believe we and especially the courts must do a better job. As solicitor general I made it my job to go out and visit as many detachments as I could. I do not have a lot of time so I will just mention one.
I can remember vividly a meeting with the detachment in Surrey, B.C. Members opposite raised the question earlier of marijuana grow operations. In the room that day when I met with the detachment in Surrey were probably 28 or 30 RCMP officers. I remember two officers vividly: one was probably 28 and the other was probably 29. One had been out of Depot a year and a half. They sat in the corner to my right and they were almost in tears talking about their concern in terms of taking down marijuana grow operations and the fact that before they were back to the office the next day, the people were out on the streets.
As the solicitor general I spoke out against this, although we are not supposed to criticize the judiciary, but the judiciary has to come to its senses in terms of exercising the full intent of the law in terms of marijuana grow operations. What those RCMP officers clearly told me when I met with them on site in the Surrey detachment was that they put their lives on the line and they see the devastation that marijuana grow operations cost. Anyone who visits Vancouver's east side can see that devastation personally, as a number of us in the House have. I would suggest maybe some of the judges should do that.
I want to come back to the two young RCMP officers who were basically asking me as solicitor general why they should put their lives on the line to take down a marijuana grow operation, which causes devastation, only to find out that before they get back to work the next day the suspects are out on the street.
What I am trying to express here on behalf of those RCMP officers who talked to me is that the courts, especially the judges in B.C., have to clearly enforce the intent of the law which is to penalize those people who are involved in marijuana grow operations to the full extent of the law.
On behalf of the RCMP officers who are trying to enforce the laws that Parliament adopts and puts in place, I would suggest to the judiciary that they take those laws seriously and, in terms of marijuana grow operations and the people who operate that criminal activity, that they enforce those laws to the full extent of the law as intended by Parliament and not on the lenient side.
We can at least do that for the RCMP officers who went into the occupation, who did the training and who want to exercise their responsibilities and activities for the benefit of all Canadians.
We are so fortunate in this country to have a police force like the RCMP and the RCMP make us all proud as Canadians of the work they do as law enforcement officers across this nation.