Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime and that is why they gave our government a strong mandate to keep our streets and communities safe. We have taken strong action on this file, specifically with the safe streets and communities act. However, we still see in our society ugly incidents of violence and discrimination based solely on an individual's race, colour or creed.
Violent attacks against synagogues, mosques and churches cannot be tolerated. That is why our government introduced the security infrastructure program in 2007, and that is why we extended it in the budget.
This program is important for cultural and religious communities to protect themselves from those who wish to harm them.
Today, the Minister of Public Safety has announced that we are now accepting applications for the next round of funding. I encourage any religious or cultural group that needs protection from racist or religious attack to bring forward an application.
As Canadians, we can all work together to protect important religious and cultural institutions from violence.