Madam Speaker, this morning I received an email from a constituent in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia.
She said that, as the wife of an RCMP officer who lives and works in my riding, she was quite alarmed by the December 1 article in Ottawa Life Magazine, entitled “Carleton Professor Says Minister and MPs are Failing the RCMP and Canadians”, which quotes Carleton criminology professor Darryl Davies.
In my riding of Kootenay—Columbia, I met with a number of members of the RCMP over the last year. They will tell members that they are underfunded, understaffed, and working with poor equipment. I spoke with a new recruit who just came out of Regina, who said that within the six-month mandatory period after attending boot camp, they left and went to municipal police forces and provincial police forces, which pay better and have better benefits.
I would like to ask the member, first of all, whether he would commit to actually meeting with members of the RCMP in his riding. I would challenge all members in this House to sit and meet with members of the RCMP in their ridings. What we need is a well-funded, well-equipped force to deal with crime and terrorism in Canada.
That is an issue about which I think every member of Parliament should be concerned.