Mr. Speaker, as the member was speaking, I was reminded that about a month ago there was an RCMP appreciation night in the city of Nanaimo. The funds raised went toward supporting the local mid-island crisis and relief centres. Thousands of dollars were raised that night. It was a way of honouring the RCMP officers, but it was also a way of working with the RCMP to raise funds for a very important initiative. The RCMP officers generously gave of their time to attend that event and support the crisis centres. They also work very closely with the crisis centres. We know that those crisis centres have saved lives.
As members have pointed out, this is a very technical bill, but the portability of pensions is absolutely critical. We have been talking about the fact that the non-portability has been a barrier.
Also, RCMP officers have not been paid as well as other police officers in this country. That is the sad part of Bill C-10, the budget implementation act. It rolls back a negotiated wage increase that would have made some steps toward the RCMP being paid the same rate as other police forces.
Right now, the non-portability of pensions is a deterrent to attracting officers. If officers want to move from a municipal force to the RCMP, it is a deterrent for them to do it because they will not get credit for their time served with the other police forces. This bill will remedy that. That is an important step toward recruitment and retention. Again, I believe that all members in the House will be supporting the bill.