Denis Paradis

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important, indeed.

First I want to thank my hon. colleague from the Bloc for his comments. He is absolutely right, the regions are important. Senior RCMP officers absolutely must understand the dynamic in the regions.

We run into the following type of question of interpretation. The Commissioner of the RCMP appeared before the committee and said that the deployment of police forces is his sole responsibility. It is his decision and no one else's. Not everyone agrees with him.

As elected officials in a region, we would not ask the commissioner to get involved in one particular case or another or to investigate a certain location. However, when it comes to the deployment of police forces, we, as elected officials, our committee, our House of Commons, have a say.

I want to come back to one of the points raised by my colleague, the issue of financial resources. The Commissioner of the RCMP assured us that it was not even a question of money, but a question of how things are done, according to his philosophy. He said he had enough money in his budget and that it was more a philosophical issue.

With his philosophy of assigning 15 police officers to the same case, in the same location, when in the past one officer handled 15 cases, I wonder where things are headed. We are heading toward an absence of police officers in the regions and it is the people living in the regions who will be penalized.

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking here about the RCMP. My hon. colleague need only look at the newspapers. This is a motion that I introduced on December 10, 2004. If he wants to take part in a democratic debate, this is the right place.

This is a debate that the House has every right to hold. It has a right to pronounce on this motion introduced by the member for Brome—Missisquoi. If the hon. member really wants to participate in a democratic debate, I would ask him to continue under our democratic rules and in the framework of the debate currently before this House about the reopening—I am not sure that he knows anything about it—of nine regional RCMP detachments in Quebec. So first of all, does my hon. colleague know anything about this?

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to mention that I will be sharing my time with the member for Bourassa.

On September 23, the RCMP announced the closure of detachments in Coaticook, Granby, Saint-Hyacinthe, Lac-Mégantic, the Magdalen Islands, Baie-Comeau, Roberval, Rivière-du-Loup and Joliette. The detachments affected are located in remote areas.

The top brass at the RCMP maintains that this is a logical decision and the result of a change in vision and direction by the federal police force. The mayors of the municipalities in question, however, fear that the regions will be unprotected and that organized crime will have free rein.

The Association des membres de la Police Montée du Québec Inc. called for a federal inquiry into this matter, after this plan was announced last September. Like the mayors of the affected municipalities, RCMP officers feared an increase in the activities of organized crime, while the top brass talked about the federal police adopting a new vision and direction. They are not alone in condemning this situation; the Association des policiers provinciaux du Québec, the Fédération des policiers et policières municipaux du Québec and the Fraternité des policiers en Montérégie have too.

In early October, federal Liberal caucus members from Quebec also decided to ask the RCMP to reconsider.

This is important to me because it is a matter of public safety. I have met the coalition of mayors and, together, we decided on a strategy. Following this meeting, I wrote to my colleague, the chair of the Standing Committee on Justice, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and member for Simcoe North. I asked for the mayors to have the opportunity to be heard in committee. I am pleased to note that the committee agreed.

On December 7, 2004, the coalition of mayors appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. They had the opportunity to share their opinion and ask that the decision to close the RCMP detachments be reviewed. At committee meetings and, then in the House, I spoke out against this situation.

At that time, they presented a very well documented report. They clearly demonstrated the threat posed by removing the RCMP from our regions, a concern that is shared by the Quebec Liberal caucus, as well as many of our colleagues in this House, and certainly some colleagues in the Bloc Québécois as well. The decision to close the RCMP regional detachments in Quebec needs to be reconsidered. We cannot allow our regions to be vulnerable to crime. Let me quote an except from the mayors' report:

Criminals and organized crime have no regional, municipal or other boundaries and they do not need consultation studies or to testify before committees in order to act. They are wherever we are, seeking the weak link. Let us not allow them to take over our territory, because you can be sure they will take it, if they have not already done so.

On that famous December 7, when the mayors made their appearance, they were backed up by municipal councillors and reeves, as well as former MPs who had been actively involved in this issue. I would like to again congratulate and thank Diane St-Jacques, David Price, and Gérard Binet.

I also salute the mayors' coalition and their spokesperson, Guy Racine, for their excellent work.

When the mayors appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights and Civil Preparedness, they presented a very good report. They were well prepared and presented some solid arguments. The committee decided to follow their lead and recommend that the detachments be kept open.

The Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights and Civil Preparedness therefore recommends the following to the government: “ that the RCMP maintain the nine detachments in Quebec that were discussed during our hearings and that it agree to maintain or restore the critical mass of officers per detachment.”

Despite all these supporting arguments, Commissioner Zaccardelli turned a deaf ear. He even went so far as to tell the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights and Civil Preparedness that a police officer used to be able to process roughly 15 cases a year. Then he added that now they have changed their methods and it takes 15 police officers—according to the Commissioner— to handle one case. I have a great deal of trouble following this about-face.

I would like to make another point. The police must be present locally and seen there. They must be there and be visible there. I think it is important. If the police are never seen on the highway, some might be tempted to speed. So it is important to see the police.

They should be seen at the local level. Their presence has a dissuasive effect. I have been a member of this House for ten years, now. We have always been told at meetings how important the presence of police officers is for dissuasive purposes. I am not talking about community police. I refer to federal police, a drug, customs, national security and public protection network.

In my riding of Brome—Missisquoi alone, it is very clear that marijuana is being planted increasingly in the fields. What sort of message is being sent with RCMP officers being withdrawn from our regions.

In addition, my riding has 10 official border crossings, not to mention the unguarded roads where there is no customs officer. I worked as a customs officer while I was a student. When a person fails to stop at a crossing, who is to be called, now? The Sûreté du Québec officers are busy in their own jurisdiction with roads and crimes involving people or goods. Can the RCMP be present when a customs officer calls?

What do our American neighbours think of all this? They have beefed up security on their side with border patrols. I think the number of police present at border crossings and in the regions should be returned to what it was. The RCMP must be present locally to discourage crime and to keep an eye on dubious transactions, such as when homes are sold for cash at three times their price. Officers have to be part of the community. They have to be involved and act as the ear of justice.

As I said at the outset, I am sharing my time with the member for Bourassa. I give the floor over to him.

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I move that the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Civil Protection, presented on Friday, December 10, 2004, be concurred in.

[Textile Industry, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the welfare and prosperity of thousands of textile workers in Quebec and in Brome—Missisquoi are of concern to me. Today, the industry is facing new difficulties because local businesses have to compete nationally and internationally with businesses that are much bigger. The government provided valuable support to the industry in December 2004.

Can the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development tell this House what the government is doing today to help textile workers in Quebec and Brome—Missisquoi?

[Textile Industry, April 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Cowansville, I took part in an important announcement for the textile sector. Consoltex Inc. has announced a $14 million investment in its plants, with the participation of the Government of Quebec.

Consoltex Inc., of Cowansville, will be the main benefactor of this investment which maintains 40 jobs. I commend its president, Marcel Thibault, who chose to innovate in an industry which is facing major problems. My thanks to the MNA for Brome-Missisquoi, Pierre Paradis, and to Minister Claude Béchard for putting everything together.

I am totally committed to the textile industry in Brome—Missisquoi. I have organized meetings in Ottawa with the various departments concerned, to open new markets internationally. Sustained cooperation among all levels, the federal, provincial and municipal governments, the company's management and its labour union, will ensure that we can not only preserve, but also develop our textile industry.

[RCMP and Law Enforcement in Canada, April 12th, 2005]

Madam Chair,If we do not see the presence now, we have done so in the past. I must point out that the population has not decreased. The Constitution has not changed and removed functions from the RCMP that it did not have in the past.

It used to deal with customs. We used to see their members in the field, along with their Sûreté du Québec colleagues, but within federal mandates. Where national security is concerned, and there are people using border crossings, this is part of national security and so it is part of the RCMP's mandate. Where drug dealers are concerned, intercepting them is part of the RCMP mandate.

I do not want to see the RCMP turned into a community police force. I want it to look after its areas of responsibility, assume its responsibilities and not shirk those responsibilities.

[RCMP and Law Enforcement in Canada, April 12th, 2005]

Madam Chair, I believe that these comments and this question were directed more to my colleague the parliamentary secretary than to me. I have not once mentioned the subject to which my colleague is referring.

I have said that we are in the regions in Quebec and that we need the RCMP. It must be present in our municipalities and in the regional offices in the province. As for the other comments made by my colleague, I will certainly let the parliamentary secretary, my colleague, answer that question.

[RCMP and Law Enforcement in Canada, April 12th, 2005]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. This is not at all about the politicization of the police force. In fact, this issue is the subject of a debate. Our Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness says that she does not want to interfere in police matters and that the deployment of police forces is the responsibility of the commissioner of the RCMP. That is our minister's position on this issue.

As elected officials, I think that we can certainly speak on behalf of our mayors, of our municipal and regional elected officials who want the presence of the RCMP in their area. This is not about the politicization of this issue. The deployment of police forces is not the sole responsibility of the commissioner of the RCMP. Elected officials must have their say or, if at some point the commissioner is not being given the right feedback, it is important that we, as elected officials directly accountable to our constituents, have the opportunity to tell the commissioner that we need such police presence. I need it in my region. I have 10 border crossings that require the presence of the RCMP, and that is being taken away at this time.

[RCMP and Law Enforcement in Canada, April 12th, 2005]

Madam Chair, my comments this evening will deal more specifically with the services provided by the RCMP in the regions and will, of course, refer to the closure of the nine RCMP detachments in Quebec.

First, I would like to thank those who were with us in the previous Parliament and who were actively involved in this issue, namely Diane St-Jacques, for Shefford, David Price, for Compton—Stanstead, and Gérard Binet, for Mégantic—L'Érable. I thank my former colleagues who brought this issue to the forefront, in an attempt to avoid these closures at the time.

We saw what has happened since. The RCMP commissioner decided to close nine detachments in various regions of Quebec. It is important to understand that when the RCMP is present in a region, it must work with municipal police forces and with the provincial police force, including the Sûreté du Québec. A few years ago, I attended a meeting with officers from the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec and various municipal police forces. They told us that, in order for the various police forces to work together, there has to be some chemistry between them. It is not just a matter of sending a couple of officers from Montreal to meet with their counterparts in a region, thinking that everything will be just fine. That is not how things work.

There is also the deterrence issue. How can we have a deterrent effect in rural areas? By ensuring that police officers are present. Someone who drives along the road but never sees an officer will be tempted to drive a little faster than the speed limit. It is the same in any other area. When the police are not visible, it is an indication to criminals that they can take advantage of the situation.

This is, I think, a very harmful consequence of the decision made by the RCMP commissioner to close these nine regional detachments in Quebec.

I feel quite justified talking about this issue, since there are 10 border crossings in my riding, but no RCMP detachment. The closest detachment is located in Granby and serves the 10 border stations in my riding.

One other element of police presence is that it can be part of the community and thus be aware of what is going on. For example, the little regional papers in my riding recently listed properties that had been sold for three times their municipal assessment value. According to real estate agents, what is more, these were cash transactions. If the police or RCMP were located in the area, they might see these reports and it would shorten their investigations.

Police are a very important presence in the regions. I am not the only one to think that. The Minister of Public Security and Emergency Preparedness said the following in her speech in honour of the four officers killed in Alberta recently.

These four officers served their community, but they were alsopart of the community. I have been struck, listening to the commentsof residents in the area, by how everyone has mentioned that thesefour men were not only police officers carrying out their officialfunctions, but they were very much part of the daily lives of localresidents. They were actively involved in local charitable events andrecreational activities

This is another hallmark of the force. To do their jobs, its membersbecome, and want to become, part of the communities in which theyserve.

Our Minister of Public Security and Emergency Preparedness said that on March 7.

A few days later, on March 10, our Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson said the following:

I have visited, in the last five and a half years, hundreds of these small towns and villages. In the north and all across Canada, it is wonderfully obvious how the local RCMP detachments contribute to the well-being and mutual understanding of their fellow citizens. Local newspapers print a welcoming article when a new constable comes to town; in Mayerthorpe and district, people were almost as likely to see an officer at the grocery store or a playing field as in uniform.

Those two testimonials are a clear illustration of how important it is to have the RCMP in the regions.

Let us take a look at the drug problems faced by our regions. More specifically in my riding, about one year ago, a mayor told me he was going to take his combine and run it through the fields of his 50 or so local clients. He asked me to guess in how many of these 50 fields traces of marijuana could be found; there were 45. That is insane. At a time when we are confronted with this renewed increase in marijuana production, a decision is made to move the RCMP out of our regions. I do not understand the rationale behind that, I do not understand it at all.

I also mentioned the 10 border crossings in my riding. A few years ago, a U.S. congressional committee, namely the Judiciary Committee’ssubcommittee on drugs, toured border crossings, and I met with its members. At the end of our discussion, the congressmen asked me this little question that said it all, “What about your Quebec gold?”

Clearly, the Americans are very aware of the fact that there are individuals in our regions who grow marijuana with total impunity. That does not make any sense.

Recently, we have been told that the problem had spread beyond high schools, to elementary schools, where pushers are now operating. That does not make any sense. The police have to be present and visible in our regions.

Some might argue that this is not part of the RCMP's mandate. As for the Sûreté du Québec, one must understand that, in Quebec, several municipal police forces have been amalgamated with the Sûreté du Québec. In addition, the mayors are complaining about inadequate presence of the Sûreté du Québec in their towns or cities. Therefore, I think that the RCMP has a major role to play, complementing that of the Sûreté du Québec and the municipal police services.

As for security, how many roads crossing the border are not guarded by customs officers? This evening, I want to pay tribute to all the RCMP officers who testified just how important it was for them to stay in the regions, despite the fact that the top brass wanted to take them out of the regions and send them to offices in Montreal or elsewhere. I also want to pay tribute to all these customs officers who do such an extraordinary job. However, this work is not supported by the RCMP but it should be to a much greater extent.

I want to give an example. In Noyan, in my riding, there is what is called an unguarded road. A customs office is located in a particular spot, but 500 metres away is an unguarded road. A small sign along this paved road advises that travellers must stop and report to the customs office down the road. People rarely make the detour and stop in to report to the other customs office.

The customs officers are therefore powerless, because we do not have what the Americans on the other side have, which are border patrols. We do not have this system. Previously, the RCMP patrolled the borders but it no longer does because the border stations have been closed and the resources reallocated.

Nine RCMP detachments are closed in Baie-Comeau, Coaticook, Granby, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Joliette, Lac-Mégantic, Rivière-du-Loup, Roberval and Saint-Hyacinthe. All the local and municipal elected officials have told us it does not make sense to close these RCMP detachments. The public has said the same thing.

This evening, I am appealing to RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli. I do not know if he is still watching at this hour—it is 11:15 p.m. I call upon him, if he is watching, to listen to the public and the elected representatives of Quebec who are asking him to keep these nine RCMP detachments open.

Recently, in committee, Commissioner Zaccardelli said that a police officer used to be able to process roughly 15 cases a year. Then he added that now they have changed their methods and it takes 15 police officers to handle one case. I do not get it.

When I came here as an MP 10 years ago, I was told it was important to see the police. It was important for the police to be seen. This is a complete about-face. I simply do not get it.

I invite Commissioner Zaccardelli to come to my riding. I invite him to visit the border crossings and to speak to the mayors in the hope that, at some point, common sense will prevail.