Madam Speaker, I rise with three petitions and it is very important I have the opportunity to deliver these on behalf of the residents.
The first petition is championed by Bethany Drader. The petitioners state that Black and indigenous people are more likely to experience police brutality; that Black and indigenous people are overrepresented in rates of incarceration relative to their population numbers; that the annual RCMP budget is in excess of $5 billion; that adequately trained community services can fill roles currently fulfilled by the RCMP, such as responding to mental health crises in a safe and violence-free method; and that social factors such as homelessness, poverty and lack of access to resources are the root causes to criminality, yet are chronically underfunded. They believe police involvement leads to substantially greater negative outcomes for Black, indigenous and racialized communities, such as the increased risk for the use of violence and potential criminalization. Recent instances of Black and indigenous deaths in Canada have been the result of police involvement and welfare checks.
The petitioners call on the House of Commons to divest from the RCMP—